The English Football League will allow Coventry City more time to continue their talks over securing a stadium for next season.
The Sky Blues are keen to return to the Ricoh Arena, now owned by Wasps Group, next season having told players and fans alike that they are doing all they can to ensure their first season back in the Championship, likely to start on either August 29 or September 12, begins in Coventry.
On Friday, CEO Dave Boddy told supporters that City “could have already confirmed a venue” for next season, believed to be Birmingham City’s St. Andrews, had they wished too – but instead were keen to continue their push for a Ricoh return.
And now the club have been reassured themselves, this time by the EFL, that they will have more time than normal to get a deal for where they will call home next term over the line.
The EFL are keen to learn a final answer within the next month, CoventryLive can reveal, a deadline much later than previous seasons and one that will allow City to continue talks with Ricoh Arena owners Wasps Group well into August.
Yesterday Boddy said: “This is a very important matter for the fans and for the club and a priority for us, and we will update fans regarding this as soon as we are able to.
Shipley’s international dream
Jordan Shipley hopes that strong individual performances in the Championship next season will be enough to catch the eye of Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny.
Shipley, 22, has already turned out for Ireland at Under-21 level, qualifying for the nation through his mother, in the past but is yet to have travelled with the senior side for an international camp.
Since breaking into Mark Robins’ first team in 2017, Shipley has scored 16 goals in 120 appearances and last season set himself the target of 10 goals and 10 assists in League One.
And he would have reached that milestone too, he believes, ending the campaign on seven goals and six assists during a season that was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But what are his targets for next season, with the Sky Blues taking the leap into the Championship?
“Well, last season ended with me so close to ten for both,” Shipley told CoventryLive as he thought about his answer.
“But that is my target again for next season and I am really looking forward to seeing what happens.
Shipley hopes for Ricoh return
Coventry City have been allowed more time by the EFL to continue their stadium talks with Ricoh Arena owners Wasps Group – and midfielder Jordan Shipley is hopeful that those talks could spell a return.
Mark Robins’ side are back in the Championship next season and have reassured supporters that they are doing all they can to strike a fair deal to bring football back to the City.
Shipley, who has set his sights on landing an international call-up with the Republic of Ireland next season, is now one of only a shrinking number of Sky Blues players to have played under Mark Robins at both the Ricoh Arena and St. Andrews.
And while he has praised Birmingham City for their “immaculate” surface during the club’s promotion campaign, he would be prepared to sacrifice the perfect pitch for a return to the Ricoh Arena.
“Playing for Coventry City, you want to be in Coventry and you want to play in the City that we all live in,” he told CoventryLive.
Striker still a target?
Is Dundee United striker Lawrence Shankland still a target for Coventry City?
Sky Blues boss Mark Robins is known to be in the market for a striker this summer with Wolves youngster Renat Dadashov and Chelsea striker Ike Ugbo both linked with transfers to Ryton-on-Dunsmore.
But defender Michael Rose may well have let the name of another one of Robins’ targets slip.
The 24-year-old, who has himself been linked with Leeds United and Bristol City, revealed that when Coventry scouts spotted him in action for Ayr United last season they were actually there to spy on his teammate, Shankland.
“I first heard about Coventry around October [2018] time from my agent. We had a lot of good young players. We had Laurence Shankland up front who was scoring loads of goals,” he told Sky Blues Extra podcast.
