Leeds United may be alert to what happened at Coventry City on Monday | OneFootball

Haji Wright's recent hat-trick against Middlesbrough may reignite interest from Leeds United this summer

Leeds United had been credited with an interest in signing American forward Haji Wright in the most recent window, and though a deal never materialised, his latest exploits may reignite the interest of the Premier League outfit.

Coventry came flying out of the blocks in the early stages of this campaign, storming into a lead at the top of the Championship table.

Goals were flying in from all over the pitch, with the likes of Victor Torp, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Ephron Mason-Clark, and Ellis Simms all getting in on the act.

However, in recent weeks, their productivity in front of goal has taken a drastic hit, culminating in a large drop off in form and briefly seeing Frank Lampard's side slip from their place at the top of the league; briefly, because Coventry would topple challengers Middlesbrough 3-1 at the CBS Arena on Monday night.

Having leapfrogged Middlesbrough to go back to the top of the league, Lampard's side will be full of confidence that they can go on and achieve that elusive Premier League promotion, though their victory, however beneficial it was, may come at a cost.

Haji Wright's latest exploits may have put Leeds United back on alert

Signed from Turkish side Antalyaspor in the summer of 2023 for a then club-record fee of £7.7 million, Haji Wright has been an almost ever-present figure in the Coventry side since his switch, having hit double digits for league goals in his first two seasons at the club and already on 13 for this campaign.

Closing in on a half-century of goals in Sky Blue colours, Wright's performances in front of goal have not gone unnoticed in that period, with clubs in the Premier League and Turkey having registered an interest in the 27-year-old.

West Ham were looking to make an offer for the American as recently as this January, but any deal was quickly squashed by chairman Doug King's £200 million valuation of the forward, with the Hammers settling on Pablo Felipe and Valentin Castellanos instead.

Rumours that a return to Turkey also emerged, with Besiktas reportedly interested in providing Wright a route back to the country, but a move never materialised, largely in part to Coventry's valuation of the striker.

Leeds United were also another club looking to add Wright to their attacking options in January, as per FootballInsider, with the Whites keen to bolster their ranks already containing the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Lukas Nmecha, and Joel Piroe.

Daniel Farke's side were openly in pursuit of former Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Jorgen Strand-Larsen, too, though the Norwegian would join Crystal Palace instead, with Leeds being priced out of any potential switch.

Following Wright's performance against Middlesbrough, he's almost certainly attracted more interest ahead of a potential summer move, with Leeds likely one of those clubs that will have him on their shortlist.

However, if Coventry do indeed go on to be promoted, it will take a hefty fee to prise Wright away from the CBS Arena, with Leeds' only chance to sign the forward likely in the event that Lampard's side remain in the second tier for next season.

Whatever the case, Wright will certainly not be short of suitors in the summer, and Leeds will likely be one of those interested parties.

With Coventry firing themselves back to the top, Lampard's side simply cannot afford to go on another poor run of form as they have done recently.

Having suffered late heartbreak at the hands of Sunderland in the play-off semi-final last season, Coventry are hoping to write their wrongs from last campaign by going one better and earning their spot in the Premier League next season automatically.

Wright will have a huge role to play if they are to achieve that feat, with the Sky Blues having struggled in front of goal as of late, with the likes of Brandon Thomas-Asante, Victor Torp, Ephron Mason-Clark, Jack Rudoni, and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto all failing to find the back of the net as consistently for numerous reasons.

Coventry did well to fend off interest from the likes of Leeds for Wright, now they must ensure that their decision to keep him at the club was justified by scoring the goals to send them to the top flight.