Coventry City urged to "seriously consider" signing Burnley and Blackburn Rovers duo | OneFootball

FLW's Coventry City fan pundit believes there are a few out-of-contract players in the Championship who could improve Frank Lampard's squad.

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 boss Frank Lampard only made one signing during the January transfer window, so he may be planning to add a few more of his own players to the squad in the summer.

The Sky Blues made midfielder Matt Grimes their only new addition last month, after Football League World exclusively revealed that Swansea City had set a £3.5 million price-tag for the 29-year-old.

Experienced forward Jamie Paterson became Lampard's second signing when he joined the club on a free transfer earlier this week, and it will be interesting to see whether the Chelsea legend plans to seek out any more players who could potentially be brought in for nothing.

It remains to be seen which division Coventry will be playing in next season, but even so, their manager may be taking a look at which players could be picked up on a free ahead of their contracts expiring this summer.

Coventry City urged to keep tabs on CJ Egan-Riley & Dom Hyam in the summer

We asked our Coventry fan pundit, Chris Deez, whether there are any out-of-contract players in the Championship who he would like to see at the CBS Arena next season.

"Looking ahead to the summer, I think Frank Lampard is going to be given a fair amount of money to spend, especially if we sell any of our prized assets," Chris told FLW.

"I would really be looking to beef up the defence. We have lost a lot of experience in recent seasons, and we really desperately need some right-back cover as well, especially if we end up selling Milan van Ewijk, which I think we probably will if we do not get promoted.

"In terms of out-of-contract players, I would be looking at the likes of CJ Egan-Riley. I am a big fan of his, and he is still very young. I'd look at Connor Roberts as well.

"I also think we should seriously consider bringing Dominic Hyam back from Blackburn Rovers, as I was a big fan of his and was not best pleased when he left.

"He has loads of experience. He and Roberts are around 30 years old, so they are pushing on a little bit, but they still have a fair few years ahead of them in this league.

"As for Egan-Riley, he is nice and young, in his early 20's, and whenever I have seen him for Burnley he has looked pretty decent. We could potentially build our defence around a player like him as well.

"Lampard has done a great job up top, he has done a great job in midfield, we have got a bevy of great midfield talent even with Ben Sheaf still to come back, and I don't think we need any reinforcements up front.

"We really just need to sort out the spine of the team, and that starts at the back."

Dom Hyam and CJ Egan-Riley could be out of reach for Coventry City

Hyam made almost 200 appearances for Coventry before he joined Blackburn for an undisclosed fee in 2022, and he would be a shrewd signing for the Sky Blues if he returned to the club this summer.

However, despite his contract at Ewood Park scheduled to be running out this summer, the Lancashire Telegraph revealed in August that Hyam's current deal contains a one-year extension until 2026 that can be triggered by Rovers, and you'd expect them to do just that.

Egan-Riley is another centre-back who would be a smart signing for Coventry, although Burnley are likely to want to agree fresh terms with the 22-year-old, especially if they fail to win promotion to the Premier League.

The ex-Man City youngster has come into his own under Scott Parker, forming an impenetrable partnership with Frenchman Maxime Esteve, and his sights are likely either going to be sticking with Burnley or looking at the Premier League.

Welsh right-back Roberts is in a similar boat as Egan-Riley in the sense that he is likely to be kept on at Turf Moor, especially if Burnley stay in the Championship for another season.

If Coventry fall short of winning promotion this season though, they will be one of the most attractive clubs in the Championship ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, so they should be in a good position to bring in the most sought after out-of-contract players as well as invest in their squad this summer.

Even still though, Egan-Riley, Hyam and Roberts could be out of reach for different reasons, but it's always worth a go if they are on the market.