Coventry City eyeing £8 million Sunderland AFC transfer raid - Brighton deal may fail | OneFootball

Championship leaders only have goalkeeper Carl Rushworth on loan, and they are reported to have already settled on his successor.

Championship leaders Coventry City only have goalkeeper Carl Rushworth on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion this season, and the Sky Blues have already settled on a potential replacement for him.

Bringing in new players on loan always comes with an element of risk. If that player performs as well as is hoped, there can be a strong chance that the player will end up returning to their parent club, leaving a need for a replacement.

Despite their recent home defeat to Southampton, Coventry City are having an excellent season in the Championship, and one of the star performers this season has been goalkeeper Carl Rushworth. But such has been the quality of his performances this season that it's starting to look as though his parent club, Brighton & Hove Albion, will want him back come the end of 2025-26.

As such, the Sky Blues have already started their search for a new goalkeeper, and fresh reporting is now confirming that they have settled on a goalkeeper who won promotion to the Premier League at the end of 2024-25 but who hasn't been able to tie down a first-team place since.

Coventry City have settled on Anthony Patterson as a potential replacement for Carl Rushworth

Reporting on his Patreon on Sunday morning, journalist Alan Nixon has confirmed that Coventry City have settled on the Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson as a potential replacement for Carl Rushworth, who may be returning to his parent club at the end of this season.

Nixon reports that Lampard is fearing he may need a new shot-stopper next season when Rushworth returns following his impressive loan spell Rushworth has had an outstanding season with the Sky Blues, all of which raises the likelihood that he will be welcomed back into the fold at the Amex come the end of this season.

Patterson's position at The Stadium of Light since Sunderland's promotion to the Premier League at the end of the 2024-25 season. With the Black Cats having signed Robin Roefs in the summer, Patterson found himself frozen out of the Sunderland first team and has spent time on loan with Millwall. Nixon reports that any deal for Patterson could be permanent or a loan, saying that, "A loan is favourite but a buy around £8 million may also work."

Patterson has had a successful start to his spell on loan at Millwall

Anthony Patterson's fortunes since Sunderland's promotion to the Premier League at the end of 2024-25 season reveal the goalkeeper to have been something of a victim of his own success. The Black Cats felt a need to upgrade their goalkeeper following promotion, and this left Patterson warming the bench for the first half of the season.

Rescue came in the form of a loan move to Millwall in the January transfer window. Patterson has now made six appearances for Millwall as their continue their challenge to join Coventry City in the Premier League, and he's kept three clean sheets, so clearly all that time away from the Sunderland first team hasn't done him much harm.

Coventry are likely to approach Brighton with a view to wanting to make Carl Rushworth's move to the club permanent during the summer, but such have been the quality of Rushworth's performances in the Championship this season that it's likely that Brighton will want him back for next season.

Alan Nixon explains that "a Rushworth return seems a long shot" and, given the success that Patterson has enjoyed at Sunderland since his loan move there, it could be that early planning for next season could land Coventry City with a more than adequate replacement for their highly talented loanee goalkeeper.