Mark Robins is not a manager to go kicking and screaming to Coventry City’s hierarchy to demand fresh funds to strengthen his squad.
The Sky Blues boss knows finances are tight, as they are at many football clubs up and down the country in the current Covid climate that means the industry is starved of vital revenue from ticket sales from stadiums that would normally be filled with fans.
And he’s stressed the fact that he won’t “add to that burden” by bringing in a number of new players in the January transfer window.
He has revealed, however, that he’d like to add at least one fresh face next month, knowing full well he’ll have to wheel and deal in order to do it.
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“I think if players go out then that gives me scope,” he said.
“Whether that happens or not remains to be seen.
“There’s maybe one that I have spoken about that I would like to do but, ultimately, it’s a case of getting on with it.”
So which players could make way for a new recruit by either freeing up wages or even providing a modest transfer fee to put to use elsewhere?
Gervane Kastaneer:
The Dutch forward is 18 months into his three year contract at Coventry and doesn’t appear to have a future at the club.
The Sky Blues have been actively trying to relocate the 24-year-old, unable to move him on in the summer transfer window.
Although Kastaneer made a brief return to Robins’s matchday squad in October, even managing to get on for 13 minutes against Blackburn Rovers, there seems little chance that he figures in the manager’s plan moving forward and the best solution for all parties is for the player to move on.
City are unlikely to get a fee but his departure would free up wages.
Marcel Hilssner:
The German winger is yet to reach the levels required to earn his debut for the Sky Blues following his arrival from SC Paderborn in the summer.
As such, Robins has already spoken about the possibility of him going out on loan, possibly back to Germany, to get first team football.
Josh Pask:
Despite starting the season, the defender slipped out of the matchday mix for several weeks before re-emerging recently as cover on the bench while centre-half Michael Rose is recovering from injury.
Although the former West Ham United trainee has never let anyone down when he’s played, it appears as if he’s on the fringes and may well be frustrated by that situation.
At 23 years old he needs to be playing regularly and a loan deal or permanent move might be the answer in January.
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Amadou Bakayoko:
Although in the last year of his contract, the 24-year-old centre-forward has been limited to a bit-part so far this season, most recently used as a late impact substitute from the bench.
The jury appears to still be out as to whether he can assert himself at Championship level and at the moment, with Tyler Walker and Max Biamou ahead of him in the pecking order, and star striker Matty Godden hoped to return to fitness in the coming weeks, it’s difficult to know when or if he will get a chance with a sustained run in the side.
(Image: PA)
Bakayoko has plenty of ability, power and energy and has proved a useful member of the squad in the last few games.
But he may well fit the bill at one of the more upwardly mobile League One clubs looking for a new striker this January.
With just six months left on his contract, City are unlikely to get a great deal for his services but the player might well be Robins’s best option to wheel and deal in the window.
