"I laughed" - Top priority Coventry City target addresses transfer links | OneFootball

The Sky Blues want to sure up their goalkeeping department by the look of things.

Highlights

Coventry City target Oliver Dovin has spoken out on the reported interest that the Championship side have in him.

The 21-year-old goalkeeper, who plays for Hammarby IF in his home country of Sweden (Marti Cifuentes' old team), has stood out as one of the top prospects in his position in the Allsvansken.

He has already made 84 appearances for his club at such a tender age, and his performances have reportedly caught the eye of the Sky Blues.

Swedish outlet Sportbladet has said that Dovin is a top priority for Coventry, and that they are working hard to sign the player in the coming weeks.

Tuttosvenskan has previously reported that a number of clubs were keeping an eye on the London-born keeper's situation, but these suggestions were played down by the club's sporting director, Mikeal Hjelmberg.

The young shot-stopper has addressed these reports in a recent interview.

Oliver Dovin on Coventry City links

The Hammarby keeper has revealed that he is aware of interest from City, but suggested that reports of him being in the country recently are wide of the mark.

"Yes. I have heard that there is interest from that club," Dovin told Fotbollskanalen. "A good club and a good league. But I have a contract with Hammarby right now and therefore it is unnecessary to speculate about other clubs.

"I read somewhere that I was supposed to be in England yesterday. I laughed when I saw it. I was here. I trained here yesterday and then I had dinner at Södermalm. So it was fun to be at home and read it."

Despite confirming the interest, the 21-year-old said that he has no plans to visit other teams at the moment.

He said: "Not as it looks now. There is interest, but Hjelmberg has said that there have been no bids, and I know nothing about whether any bids have been made. So my focus is on Hammarby."

Dovin further revealed that he expects to play for his club on Sunday against Gais, but that now could be the time for him to move on from Hammarby.

"It absolutely could be (the right time to go)," stated the glovesman. "I think I have made great strides this past year and have performed well. Going abroad is not something I close the door on now."

Coventry's proactiveness is an encouraging sign

Between the sticks is not an obvious weakness in Robins' squad at the moment. Sure, Bradley Collins had his ups and downs throughout his spell as the number one last season, but they weren't consistently being let down by poor errors from their shot-stopper.

It's a bit like what Arsenal did last season, on a bit of a smaller scale. People were urging them to sign some more attacking options; a true number nine. Mikel Arteta didn't see that as being the case, replaced a very competent goalkeeper in Aaron Ramsdale with David Raya, and they came within a couple of points of winning the Premier League.

Coventry will hope to improve on their league finish from last season, which saw their Championship form tail off as they went deeper into their FA Cup run.

This reported interest in Dovin shows the confidence that the manager must have in his current crop of players. He wouldn't be going out to try and sign a keeper, even though they have a decent one, if he didn't think the rest of the squad was good enough to challenge for those top spots.