Coventry City fired blanks with Rotherham United transfer agreement - Sky Blues envy followed | OneFootball

Jonson Clarke-Harris was unable to succeed at Coventry City after signing from Rotherham United.

Coventry City have endured varying success in the transfer market in modern times, just like many clubs up and down the country.

Sky Blues supporters will fondly remember former players such as Viktor Gyokeres, who established himself as one of the best strikers in the Championship before joining Portuguese outfit Sporting in the summer of 2023, ahead of an eventual move to Arsenal.

In contrast, 2015 addition Ruben Lameiras failed to impress at Coventry before performing well at Plymouth Argyle in both the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons.

Meanwhile, the Sky Blues have established themselves as a Championship powerhouse in recent years and reached the play-off final in 2023.

Jonson Clarke-Harris flopped at Coventry City after joining from Rotherham United

Coventry rose through the divisions from League Two to the Championship under the largely successful stewardship of former boss Mark Robins, who also guided them to the FA Cup semi-finals in 2024.

The Sky Blues were particularly proud when they were crowned League One champions in 2020, especially after previously experiencing off-field issues.

However, one player who failed to perform for the West Midlands outfit in their third-tier days was striker Jonson Clarke-Harris, who moved to the CBS Arena on loan from Rotherham United in January 2018, ahead of a permanent transfer the following summer.

Clarke-Harris had also represented Coventry in the early stages of his career, but instead joined Peterborough United in 2012 after making just one senior appearance.

When his side re-signed the forward permanently in the summer of 2018, Robins told the Sky Blues club website: "We’re very pleased to agree to sign Jonson on a permanent basis.

"Jonson was an important part of the squad that won promotion last season, and showed the attributes we know he has during his loan spell with us.

"He brings a strength and physicality to our play which will be important assets for us, as well as his goalscoring threat, and we hope he will have a big impact in League One."

However, Robins' hopes did not come to fruition, as Clarke-Harris scored just five goals in 27 third-tier appearances in the 2018/19 season and was sold to Bristol Rovers midway through the campaign.

Coventry were then left envious of how well the striker performed for Rovers and, eventually, Peterborough once he returned to the Posh in 2020.

Coventry City never witnessed the same Jonson Clarke-Harris success as Bristol Rovers or Peterborough United

Clarke-Harris instantly put his Coventry struggles to one side when he joined Bristol Rovers, and scored 11 goals in 16 League One appearances for the Gas in the second half of the 2018/19 season.

The West Country club finished 15th in the third tier that campaign, avoiding relegation by four points, thanks to the former Sky Blues man's efforts.

He then went on to notch 16 goals and two assists across all competitions in the 2019/20 campaign, which turned out to be his final season with the Gas.

The best was still yet to come for Clarke-Harris, though, as he was more prolific than ever before once he re-joined Peterborough in the summer of 2020.

His impressive return of 31 goals and three assists in his first League One campaign with the Posh fired the London Road club to automatic promotion to the Championship.

Those performances would have left Coventry particularly envious, as Clarke-Harris was unable to fire the Sky Blues to the second tier, even though they boasted lofty ambitions under Robins.

The former Rotherham man then went on to score 12 goals in the Championship for Peterborough, and was a shining light in a side that finished 22nd at the end of a tough 2021/22 season.