'Something has happened to him' - Claim made on Bobby Thomas at Coventry City amid West Ham exit talk | OneFootball

Coventry City defender Bobby Thomas reportedly attracted interest from Premier League side West Ham United in the winter transfer window.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Coventry City defender Bobby Thomas reportedly attracted interest from West Ham United in the winter transfer window, but ultimately remained with the Championship high-fliers.

The Sky Blues remain top of the second tier, but are now level on points with second-place Middlesbrough, courtesy of successive defeats at the hands of Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers.

Frank Lampard's men will be eager to get back to winning ways when they host a struggling Oxford United outfit this Saturday.

Coventry utilised the transfer window to sign Yang Min-Hyeok, Romain Esse, Jahnoah Markelo, and Frank Onyeka, whereas Justin Obikwu and Kai Andrews both left the West Midlands in loan moves.

Coventry City could have been better served by cashing in on Bobby Thomas, says Sky Blues expert

Thomas has been a key man for Lampard's side this season, featuring in 24 of their 30 Championship fixtures in central defence.

According to the Daily Mail, the 25-year-old was eyed by West Ham in January, amid Nuno Espirito Santo's efforts to keep the London Stadium outfit in the Premier League.

Following interest in the defender's services from the Hammers, Football League World asked our Coventry fan pundit, Chris Deez, how much of a boost it was that Thomas stayed with the Sky Blues, rather than moving to the Premier League.

Deez told FLW: "I really don't know how I feel about Booby Thomas anymore, to be honest, and that's quite a common theme that I'm seeing across social media from Cov fans. I've loved him from the years he's been here. He's been a defensive leader for us, he's scored some important goals, he's been a brick wall no matter who he's had paired with him at centre-back.

"He's always been one of our talismans basically. But in recent months, alongside (Liam) Kitching, it's been bad. It's been a tough watch. Neither of them know how to defend anymore, and I don't really understand what's happened. Maybe Frank Onyeka coming in is going to sort of instil a little bit more confidence in them, because they don't look like themselves anymore.

"Leaving massive gaps too high up the pitch, not challenging attackers that are coming straight at them, just giving them way too much space. They look like shadows of themselves. There was a point in this window where Thomas was linked away for like £20million to West Ham. I was a little bit resigned to that fact.

"Fine, let's just sell him. £20m could bring us in two or three really good, solid centre-backs, maybe with a bit of Premier League experience. That's what we need. You never want to see your best players leave, and there is no doubt about it that Bobby Thomas is a fantastic centre-back.

"Even with how bad we've been since the start of November, Premier League teams are still looking at him, they recognise how good he is. Nobody in the Cov fanbase is saying that he's a bad defender all of a sudden, because that just wouldn't be true. That would be disingenuous.

"Something has happened to him, I don't know what it is, a confidence issue? I'll be honest, this isn't something that many Cov fans talk about, but our defending hasn't been great for the entire season. Carl Rushworth in goal has been an absolute hero. He's practically a Cov legend already, and he's only here on loan.

"We've had defensive frailties all season since the very start, but back then we were scoring three, four, five goals a game, so it didn't really matter. It wasn't noticed as much, it was sort of glossed over. But then, teams have found us out. They know how to break us down now, they know how to stop that insane attack that we used to have because Lampard cannot adapt.

"He can't adapt to the results, to teams, the situations, to the scoreline. If we don't go up, we will lose Bobby Thomas in the summer. I'd be sad to see him go, but if we can get a decent fee for him, he's not irreplaceable."

Frank Lampard needs Bobby Thomas to return to his best amid Championship promotion bid

As per Deez, Thomas has largely been a class act for Coventry since joining the Sky Blues from Burnley back in 2023, hence transfer interest in his services from West Ham.

However, in recent weeks, the former Clarets man has been underperforming for Lampard's men, and was even sent off in last month's 3-2 defeat to Birmingham City.

Thomas was also not his usual self when the Sky Blues suffered consecutive 2-1 losses to Norwich and QPR, causing his side to lose their grip on the title race.

Lampard needs his star defender to return to his best form, as a place in next season's Premier League is on the line for Coventry, who are being put under increasing pressure by Middlesbrough and Hull City.