According to Coventry City manager Mark Robins, Fabio Tavares may leave the team on loan during the January transfer window.
Tavares, a youthful striker, joined Coventry City about two years ago after moving from Rochdale in the winter of 2021. The Portuguese player has spent most of his career in the Sky Blues’ junior structure, making 18 professional appearances and scoring one goal.
Tavares has only lately made a comeback after a protracted injury layoff. However, at 22, the consensus is that he should get consistent first-team opportunities.
He would thus profit from a winter loan, and it appears that this is being considered. Although he has been working on a recovery for the most of 2023, Coventry City manager Robins has stated to Coventry Live that he believes Tavares needs to play and that there is a “fairly high” likelihood that he will go out on loan to do so.
“He’s been out for nearly a year, just like Callum [O’Hare] has been out, but he will be around training,” Robins stated. “Fabio was still trying to break into the side at the point where he got injured. That set him back and we’ll look to see what we’re going to do with him, but he needs to play, so the chances of him going out on loan in January are fairly high. These are the conversations that we’re having right now, so that’s where we are with Fabio.
“Although no firm decision has been taken, it could be the direction that it goes in my opinion. Fabio is aware of that; we’ll just watch to see how he progresses and how quickly he picks up speed.
Best for Tavares?
For the meantime, the focus will be on managing Tavares’ workload in training and competitive minutes while he steps up his return from a long-term achilles injury. Ahead of January though, it does seem like a temporary move will be best for his development.
He got a decent amount of experience with Rochdale before his Coventry City switch but as touched on before, at 22, the time has come for him to be playing the senior game week in, week out.
Despite the injury, he remains a highly-rated prospect and with just over 18 months left on his deal, you get the feeling 2024 could be an important year. He’s caught the eye at youth level but over the rest of the season, he’ll be keen to prove just what he can offer Robins and his Championship side moving forward.
