Coventry City now regrets letting go of these 3 former academy players.
We examined three previous academy players that Coventry City could have regretted letting depart the organization.
To compete for promotion in the Championship this year, Coventry City has undergone considerable roster changes.
In order to replace important players that left this summer, the club made investments in the transfer market, breaking their transfer record in the process with the signing of Haji Wright.
While Coventry’s academy continues to generate potential talent, the recruitment drive may limit opportunities for young players. James Maddison and Callum Wilson are two notable instances of successful academy graduates.
This season, Coventry City plans to make another run at promotion in the Championship.
The Sky Blues had a fantastic season last year and advanced to the play-off final, but Luton Town defeated them at Wembley in May on penalties.
Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer, two crucial players for Coventry, left this summer to join Sporting Lisbon and Sheffield United, respectively. However, owner Doug King has given manager Mark Robins significant support in the transfer market to replace them.
In addition to signing USA international Haji Wright from Antalyaspor, the Sky Blues also signed players Jay Dasilva, Ellis Simms, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Brad Collins, Joel Latibeaudiere, Bobby Thomas, Milan van Ewijk, Liam Kitching, Luis Binks, and Yasin Ayari. This transaction shattered the club’s transfer record.
This season, Coventry’s recruitment strategy might limit the first team possibilities for young players, but the academy is once again producing promising talent.
James Maddison, a midfielder who this summer completed a high-profile transfer from Leicester City to Tottenham Hotspur, started his career there. Callum Wilson, a striker for Newcastle United, is another well-known academy alum.
There wasn’t much Coventry could have done to stop Maddison and Wilson from leaving because they were already playing in League One, but we took a look back at some of the academy products the Sky Blues might have regretted not keeping.
Clarke-Harris became Coventry’s youngest-ever player when he was introduced as a substitute in the EFL Cup against Morecambe in August 2010 aged 16 years and 20 days, but his first team opportunities were limited and he was released by the club in 2012.
The striker then had spells with Peterborough United, Southend United, Bury, Oldham Athletic, Rotherham United, MK Dons and Doncaster Rovers before returning to the Sky Blues on loan in January 2018, making the deal permanent that summer after helping the club to promotion from League Two.
But Clarke-Harris was again allowed to leave Coventry as he joined Bristol Rovers in January 2019 and it was at the Memorial Stadium where he discovered his form, scoring 27 goals in 49 appearances for the Gas.
He returned to Peterborough in 2020 and he has maintained his reputation as one of the most prolific goalscorers in League One, finishing as the third tier’s joint-top scorer last season with 26 goals, but he has also proven he can perform in the Championship having netted 12 for Posh as they were relegated in the 2021-22 campaign.
Whether Clarke-Harris would be able to score the goals to fire Coventry into the Premier League is uncertain, but having seen how his career has developed, they may be regret letting him go not just once, but twice.
