Birmingham City, West Brom and Coventry City plot Sunderland transfer raid | OneFootball

The trio of second-tier clubs are in the race to sign defender Luke O’Nien.

Championship clubs Birmingham City, Coventry City and West Brom are all interested in a move for Sunderland defender Luke O’Nien during the January transfer window.

This is according to a report by the Chronicle, who state that the second-tier trio are monitoring O’Nien’s situation at Sunderland. The defender has been unable to gain consistent game-time under Regis Le Bris since their promotion to the Premier League.

When it comes to the three sides, they have all had contrasting fortunes in the second-tier so far.

Coventry City are leading the way at the top of the Championship and are fully expected to go on to secure promotion back to the big time under Frank Lampard, while Birmingham City and West Brom’s promotion hopes are in limbo following disappointing starts to their campaigns.

Pressure was mounting on Chris Davies after a run of seven games without a win, but a priceless victory over the Sky Blues has rekindled hope and leaves them seven points away from the play-offs.

Meanwhile, West Brom will need a similar result when they travel to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City this evening, with discontent emerging from supporters towards boss Ryan Mason, as the club currently languishes in 18th and just seven points away from the bottom three.

For all clubs, the January transfer window is a crucial time to add depth and quality to the squads in order to have a massive impact on their seasons, and it appears all of Coventry, Birmingham and West Brom want to bolster their defensive ranks.

As per a report by the Chronicle, Championship trio Birmingham City, Coventry City and West Brom are all keeping tabs over a move for Sunderland’s Luke O’Nien during the January transfer window.

Any exit for O’Nien from the Black Cats would be on loan, with the 31-year-old finding game-time hard to come by since helping the Wearside outfit gain promotion back to the big time following an eight-year exodus.

O’Nien originally moved to Sunderland in the summer of 2018 under Jack Ross, and has been an instrumental figure to their rise back to the top-flight, being a major success across both League One and the Championship.

So far in the Premier League, O’Nien has been reduced to substitute appearances against both Liverpool and Manchester City, and it has now emerged that he may be allowed to return to the Championship for the remainder of the campaign.

It’s hardly a surprise given the revamp Sunderland made to their playing squad, spending £150m on 15 players.

The Black Cats may hold fire for now on sanctioning any departures due to a large portion of their squad being away on African Cup of Nations duty, but it is believed O’Nien, alongside Nathan Patterson and Dan Neil, could all head for the exit door at the turn of the year.

Luke O’Nien would be a dependable option for any Championship side

It was only a matter of time before Luke O’Nien’s name would be mentioned regarding a move back to the Championship, and he would certainly be a shrewd piece of business for any club that can secure his signature.

The 31-year-old was one of the best defenders in the second-tier last campaign, featuring in 45 of their 46 games in the regular season and playing across the whole of the backline to benefit the team.

The definition of a utility man, O’Nien’s ability to play in a multitude of positions is a core reason why the likes of Birmingham, Coventry and West Brom are all interested in him, while he now has the experience at this level to match his versatility.

You would feel a move to the CBS Arena with Coventry City would be the most appealing given their position, while it would present O’Nien with an opportunity to add a second promotion out of the Championship onto his CV.

Competition would be rife at Birmingham City given their abundance of defensive options, but game-time would be a realistic proposition at West Brom, where you feel O’Nien would be played more as a right-back given Albion’s lack of options in that area.

It will be intriguing to see who will come out on top in the race for O’Nien’s signature, with this addition potentially going down as one of the best captures of this January transfer window.