Haji Wright and Ellis Simms will not like emerging Coventry City transfer news | OneFootball

Coventry City are being linked with numerous strikers, which may force the likes of Haji Wright and Ellis Simms out of the club

Coventry City are still riding the high of winning the Championship and earning the chance to play in the Premier League for the first time since the 2000/01 campaign.

But sooner rather than later, focus will have to be fully on preparing for the top flight and ensuring that their stay in the Premier League lasts more than a single season. Perhaps, in some regard, it already is.

The Sky Blues don't even know who will be the third team to join them from the Championship in the Premier League next season, yet the rumour mill is already churning out plenty of transfer targets that Frank Lampard and co are reportedly looking at.

Looking specifically at the top end of the pitch, Coventry have been linked with former Tottenham Hotspur striker Troy Parrott, who has 31 goals this season for AZ Alkmaar in Holland, and Juventus' Loïs Openda, who was third in the Golden Boot race in the Bundesliga just two seasons ago.

Additionally, Zian Flemming is also being touted as someone the Sky Blues may be looking at as well, and despite his Burnley side being relegated, 10 goals in his debut Premier League campaign isn't something to sniff at.

Haji Wright and Ellis Simms will hate Coventry City's links with top striking options

Coventry fans must be feeling like kids in a candy store with the number of players they are being linked with day by day, but Haji Wright and Ellis Simms won't be enjoying the striking options from top European leagues who are being talked up as transfer targets.

The duo have played major roles in recent Sky Blues history, both joining the CBS Arena-based outfit in the summer of 2023 — Wright arrived as the club's record signing, too.

Simms netted 20 goals in all competitions in his first season at the club, and was the main marksman in their run to the FA Cup semi-finals that year. His output decreased last season, and that led him to being mainly a substitute option for Frank Lampard this year, but he still netted 13 times to help Coventry to the Championship title.

Meanwhile, Wright has been consistent in front of goal throughout the three years, netting double figures in each league campaign, including a personal-best 17 this season, earning him second place in the Golden Boot race.

Both players will feel that they deserve at least a chance to stake their claim for a place in the squad for the upcoming Premier League season, but it looks like Lampard is already targeting a marquee signing up top.

If either Parrott or Openda make their way across to the CBS Arena, even if they may be a step too far in terms of ambition, the current attacking duo will find themselves bumped down the pecking order to the point where they may be forced out completely.

Haji Wright and Ellis Simms' situation reflects the harsh reality of the Premier League

The gap in quality between the Championship and the Premier League is growing year-on-year, and the pressure to stay up has increased exponentially too, to the point where, if a player lacks top-flight experience, it's very rare that a manager will even take a chance on them.

Take Sunderland, for example. Of the 14 players to have played over 1,000 minutes in the Premier League this season at the Stadium of Light, only Trai Hume, Enzo Le Fee, Dan Ballard and Wilson Isidor were at the club in the Championship.

And of those four, Le Fee had experience in Serie A and Ligue 1, and Isidor played regularly in the top flight in Russia before moving to Sunderland, too. Only Hume and Ballard had zero top-flight experience.

Wright was a seasoned goalscorer in Turkey before his £7.7 million switch to Coventry, so he may fall into a similar category as Isidor, who has come off the bench more times than he's started this season. Whereas Simms was tested somewhat in the Premier League at Everton, but started just twice in the 10 top-flight games he played in the 2022/23 term.

Now more than ever, teams are less willing to take a chance on players who just have good Championship seasons behind them, instead opting for players who they know will contribute at a higher level. Joel Piroe, the top scorer in the second tier last season at Leeds United, has played under 250 minutes of Premier League football this year.

It's unfortunate, but there can be no room for sentiment this summer at Coventry, even if that means bidding farewell to some of the likeable characters who got the club back into the Premier League after 25 years away.