"There's no point" - Coventry City urged to sell £25k-a-week star this summer on one clear condition | OneFootball

Haji Wright's poor form could see him sold by Frank Lampard soon

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 have been urged to cash in on key forward Haji Wright this summer, as long as they can recoup the £7.7 million fee paid for him in 2023, following some poor performances over the last season since Frank Lampard was appointed as boss.

The Sky Blues' impressive campaign came to a gut-wrenching end last week, as Dan Ballard's late extra-time header saw Sunderland seal a place in the play-off final against Sheffield United to leave Lampard's side to face another term in the second-tier.

Coventry are bound to be busy in the upcoming summer window as they look to regroup and maintain a squad worthy of making the top-six for the third time in four years.

Lampard may well look to sanction some high-profile exits as he tackles his first summer as Sky Blues boss, and Wright has been predicted to be one of those following his struggles over the last few months.

Coventry

Wright joined Coventry for a club-record £7.7m fee from Turkish side Antalyaspor in August 2023, on a four-year contract which is said to see him earn an estimated weekly wage of £25,000, and he was hugely impressive in his maiden campaign at the CBS Arena, with 19 goals and eight assists in 50 games across all competitions.

The versatile forward's two crowning moments in sky blue so far came in the FA Cup that season, as his 100th-minute winner against Wolves sent Mark Robins' side into the semi-final against Manchester United, then he also netted a last-minute penalty in that game at Wembley to complete an almighty Coventry comeback from 3-0 down to 3-3.

His second campaign at the club was less successful on a personal level, despite the Sky Blues' better performances as a team, as he registered 12 goals and one assist in a season disrupted by a three-month ankle injury layoff.

The USA international scored just twice in the club's final 10 league outings of the term, including those two play-off games against Sunderland, the latter of which saw him miss a golden chance to win the tie for his side deep into added-time at the end of the 90 as he crashed a free-header well wide of the target.

Wright has drawn criticism from Coventry supporters over recent months for his poor showings, and FLW's Sky Blues fan pundit, Chris Deez, wants to see him sold this summer, as a result, but only for a fee that either matches or eclipses what the club paid for him two years ago.

“Haji Wright is a bit of a weird one. He had a fantastic first season, playing alongside Ellis Simms when Mark Robins was still here," Chris told FLW.

“Maybe (Robins) knew the key to getting the best out of Haji, I don’t know. Obviously he had that long injury layoff this season, under Lampard.

“He was out for about four months, and when he came back, within a couple of games he hit that amazing hat-trick against Sunderland and looked like he had rediscovered his form.

“But then, for the rest of the season and the play-offs, he just looked like he could not care less.

“That’s pretty much the general consensus that I have seen from Coventry fans on social media as well, and any that I have spoken to.

“He played like a player who has had his head turned by interest from the Premier League and other European leagues. He just downed tools, basically.

"I think Lampard is a little bit to blame for it as well…he shouldn’t have given him three hours of game-time over the play-offs. After the first game, that should have been him out of the team, but, hey.

“We spent about (eight) million pounds on him, and I think if we’d have cashed in on him before this season, so in the last summer window, we would have probably made a profit on him.

“I don’t know if we would now. I’d be quite happy if we can get nine, 10 million now, at this stage. He’s 27, so he’s not young but also not old by any means.

“When he can be bothered he is a fantastic player…he’s one of the best strikers that we have had here in a long time. Obviously he’s not as good as Viktor Gyokeres, but they are quite different types of players.

“So I would say 'thank you Haji for the goals, and thank you for the memories and FA Cup runs and stuff like that,' but he clearly doesn’t want to be here.

“If we can get back what we paid and reinvest that in a couple of really good players, I think it would be best to let him go.

“There is no point keeping a player here who doesn’t want to be here.”

Wright has previously been linked with a move away from Coventry - he could leave this summer

Wright is clearly a talented player at Championship level, but he was unable to replicate his form from his debut campaign over the last season, and only really showed glimpses of what he can do in short moments amid injury issues.

His decent early-season performances and reputation were still enough to see him earn transfer interest from higher-placed sides in the recent January window, though, as TBR Football reported that both Leicester City and Ipswich Town were plotting moves for the 27-year-old, with Coventry believed to be open to a sale.

A move never materialised in the winter, likely due to his aforementioned injury issues, but the Foxes and the Tractor Boys have each been relegated from the Premier League over the last month, and so either club could reignite their interest in his services as they look to bolster their respective squads with a whole host of incomings and outgoings likely.

There is also a case to be made for Sky Blues head-coach Lampard potentially wanting to build a core group of players that he has chosen to sign for the club, rather than those he inherited from Mark Robins, which could leave the USA international open to an exit.

Wright is a valuable asset to Coventry, in terms of a player who could be sold for a high fee and profit, and so he feels like the most likely to be allowed to move on over the likes of Milan van Ewijk, Jack Rudoni and Ellis Simms this summer, especially after failing to deliver in big recent moments.