Coventry City have laughed at Rangers FC - ex-Aston Villa man was spot on | OneFootball

Carl Rushworth was close to joining Rangers in the summer before Coventry City confirmed his addition

Coventry City's promotion squad will all go down as heroes for years to come, with Frank Lampard guiding the Sky Blues back to the Premier League after a 25-year absence.

The 2025/26 season will always be one to remember for Coventry fans, with the club finally ending their stay outside of the top flight of English football in style by lifting the Championship title in front of their fans at the CBS Arena.

From top to bottom, no side has been better in all compartments of the game than the Sky Blues, scoring the most in the division with 97, and conceding the least with 45.

Each of striker Haji Wright, midfielder Matt Grimes, defender Milan van Ewijk, and goalkeeper Carl Rushworth earned their spots in the Championship Team of the Season, with Rushworth in particular by far and away the league's most outstanding shot-stopper this year.

The Englishman joined on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer to replace the injured Oliver Dovin, and has flourished at the CBS Arena, with the club looking to make his loan a permanent one as soon as possible.

However, things could have been very different for Rushworth and Coventry, with the 24-year-old having very nearly headed north of the border to Scotland instead.

Lee Hendrie's "big coup" claim of Coventry City's Carl Rushworth addition amid Rangers interest has aged superbly

Before Coventry secured the services of Rushworth in the summer, the Brighton loanee was very close to joining Rangers, with the Glasgow-based outfit reportedly interested in bringing him to Scotland to compete with Jack Butland in goal.

However, the move collapsed, and the Englishman headed to the CBS Arena instead, where, as the saying goes, the rest is history.

Former Aston Villa midfielder turned pundit Lee Hendrie exclusively told Football League World back in July 2025 that Coventry's move for Rushworth could be a "big coup", and he couldn't have been more on the money.

Hendrie said: "You look at any player or any goalkeeper really that’s played or been around the top level, then I think it’s a big coup for any football club to bring in someone who's Premier League bound, and particularly being linked with Rangers, which looks like it’s collapsed.

"I think Frank (Lampard) will be looking at that and knowing it’s a really good signing. I think that’s an area they haven’t really struggled with goalkeeper-wise, but having someone of his calibre would be a really good addition to Coventry City."

Rushworth had never made a senior appearance for Brighton at that stage, and now looks increasingly likely to never do so, having had loan spells with the likes of Walsall, Lincoln City, Swansea City, and Hull City previously.

Whilst there was a good degree of optimism around his addition at Coventry, not even the most optimistic of Sky Blues fans could have possibly predicted his impact on the squad, and the connection he has since formed with the fanbase.

Whilst the Sky Blues attack will earn a lot of the plaudits for their work in the final third, it's been Rushworth's performances in goal that have ultimately got Coventry over the line, and they will always be thankful that his move to Ibrox never materialised, with Hendrie's prediction being proven correct.

Frank Lampard will be eager to bring Carl Rushworth back to Coventry City permanently after a wonderful loan spell from Brighton

It's probably one of the worst-kept secrets in football at the moment of Coventry's permanent swoop for Rushworth.

The Englishman has done little to hide his intentions of making a permanent move to the Sky Blues this summer from Brighton, continuously dropping hints of his return.

Bringing Rushworth in permanently will be one of the best pieces of business the club could possibly do this summer, with the relationship between the player, the club, and the fans unable to get much better.

Lampard will need a solid number one as the Sky Blues make the step into the top-flight, and Rushworth is the most obvious option.

Had he joined Rangers, who knows how differently things would've panned out? Though, fortunately for Coventry, fate would see Rushworth make the move to the CBS Arena, in a move which could be looked back upon as one of the very best in the club's history.