Although the Sky Blues’ roster isn’t very large, there may still be space for some transfers during the midseason window.
Coventry City experienced a learning curve during the first several months of the 2023–24 Championship season as they adjusted to life without their two star players, Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer.
With a ton of money to spend during the summer thanks to the sales of the Swede and the Dutchman, manager Mark Robins was able to completely overhaul the composition of his squad. Many new players are now competing at the Coventry Building Society Arena. Although City are currently 13th in the Championship table after 11 games, they were beginning to find their rhythm prior to the international break, collecting eight out of a potential 12 points.
Despite their summer investment, Coventry’s roster isn’t very large, and until a few more fresh faces are added during the January transfer window, there won’t likely be many departures.
Let’s look at TWO players that would be better off playing the second half of the season somewhere. Robins may be able to loan away a couple of his team members for more regular play.
Fabio Tavares
Tavares wasn’t expected to have an instant effect for the Sky Blues because, at the time of his transfer to Coventry in February 2021, he had only scored four senior goals in 39 games for Rochdale.
He had many cameo appearances in the Championship the following season, and in just his second game for Cov, he scored an outstanding first goal for the team against Preston North End. His time ultimately did come, though, a year later in the 2021–22 campaign. The young Portuguese player, who played 11 times in all competitions last season as part of Robins’ ambitions, suffered a ruptured achilles tendon in the FA Cup match against Wrexham in January.
Tavares has yet to make a full recovery from the injury; he only returned to the practice field earlier in October for running, with full contact training to follow.
However, you’d think Tavares would be prepared to play football by late December. If a League Two loan—or even a National League one—could be arranged for the 22-year-old, that would be very beneficial for his development, especially given the competition for positions up front at Coventry.
Jake Bidwell
Bidwell, who was a regular in the starting 11 last season, has fallen down the pecking order as a result of the long-term signing of Jay Dasilva from Bristol City.
Although it may be unfair to the 30-year-old given that he was a consistent member of a team that reached the Championship play-offs in 2022–2023, Robins obviously favors Dasilva’s pace down the left side of the field at the moment. Additionally, as Tatsuhiro Sakamoto can play both the left and right wingback positions, Bidwell may now technically be the third option.
If another team wants to pay Bidwell’s wages, then a deal should be taken into consideration because a player with Bidwell’s experience could easily leave and obtain regular game-time at another Championship club starting in January.
