Ellis Simms’ recent form could start attracting interest from a number of clubs, following in the footsteps of Viktor Gyokeres and Gus Hamer
Viktor Gyokeres and Gus Hamer were sold by the Sky Blues for enormous sums of money in the summer, and they went to Sheffield United and Sporting Lisbon, respectively.
Mark Robins moved quickly to get Simms into the team over the summer, with the striker coming on a four-year deal from Premier League side Everton. The two sold for nearly £30 million.
The 23-year-old is starting to settle into the Coventry Building Society Arena and may be the next player to be traded for a big sum of money after showing us flashes of his potential while on loan at Sunderland last year.
Ellis Simms sets a Coventry City scoring record.
Simms moved from Goodison Park to Cov in the summer of 2023 for a rumoured club-record cost that might climb to £8 million with add-ons. However, it took him some time to find his scoring touch for the new team.
Before being called up by his parent club at the beginning of the January transfer window, the forward scored seven goals in 17 appearances for the Black Cats during his brief stay at the Stadium of Light last season.
After ten games, the striker finally found the back of the net for his new team, City, on September 30, defeated Queens Park Rangers 3-1 thanks to two goals in a 12-minute span.
After the New Year, Simms has been a revelation in front of goal, no doubt helped by his partner in crime Callum O’Hare’s return to play. It took another 16 games for Simms to score against Swansea City in December.
The former Blackpool loanee is back to his best and killing it, which should send shivers down the spine of Championship defences. He has scored nine goals in his previous ten games, including hat-tricks against Maidstone United in the FA Cup and Rotherham United in midweek.
Priceless goals against Stoke City last month, as well as draws with Bristol City and Plymouth Argyle, have kept Coventry in the playoff picture.
Simms is among the top ten players in the division for efficiency, with 1.22 shots on goal per 90 minutes of football played in the Championship this season. He is surrounded by players like Adam Armstrong of Southampton and league leaders Sammie Szmodics and Morgan Whittaker.
The frontman, who has already collected two match balls this season, will be itching for more before the end of the campaign and might be a key player in the Sky Blues’ push for a top six spot.
Gus Hamer and Viktor Gyokeres are being followed by Ellis Simms.
Viktor Gyokeres, who scored 38 goals in the last two seasons for Coventry before completing a move to Sporting Lisbon in a deal that could potentially cost over £20 million, is one of the most potent goal scorers in Championship history.
With just three goals in his 19 appearances, the incredible Swede’s debut season wasn’t as noteworthy as his last two.
But, after he had settled there, Mark Robins’ team would have needed that transitional phase to let him develop further. After two seasons, he tore the league apart.
Similar to his predecessor, Simms appears to be progressing along a similar path, exhibiting a slow start followed by consistent goal-scoring phases and establishing himself as an essential member of Coventry’s attacking threat.
Another high-earning player was Hamer, a playmaker who reportedly paid £15 million to join Sheffield United in the summer.
After just eight goals in his first season in England, the former Feyenoord player ended 2022–2023 with nine goals and eleven assists in the Championship, making him a valuable asset for several clubs at the top of the league.
What this just shows is that any player who is given time to develop into the backbone of the side that Robins has assembled is likely to thrive and demand a hefty transfer fee once the goals start to come in.
Callum O’Hare is one player on whom Coventry appears unlikely to make money this summer. The inventive forward has not yet agreed to a new contract with the team, therefore he is free to sign elsewhere in the summer.
With nine goals in 25 games this season, the 25-year-old is reportedly the target of several Premier League teams.
Simms’ contract expires in 2027, so there’s no way he could go on a cheap note. The Sky Blues will easily recoup their investment in a player who, given enough time, can guarantee goals.
