Coventry City should turn to Burnley for a Luke Woolfenden alternative | OneFootball

Coventry City should make a move to sign centre-back Joe Worrall for Burnley as an alternative to Ipswich Town defender Luke Woolfenden.

Coventry City have made a strong start to the 2025/26 Championship season, and the expectation will be that the Sky Blues mount a serious and sustained tilt for promotion to the Premier League this season.

Frank Lampard took over Coventry mid-way through last season and he led them to the play-off semi-finals, where they were eventually beaten by Sunderland in dramatic circumstances.

So far in this campaign, Coventry have looked like a side that could push on even further than the top six and challenge for the top two and the automatic promotion spots.

They have had a relatively quiet transfer window, both in terms of incomings and outgoings, but they are seemingly still active with just a few days to go.

One player that they have been linked with recently is Ipswich Town defender Luke Woolfenden, but the Tractor Boys have made it clear that they do not want to lose the 26-year-old this summer.

So, instead of a move for Woolfenden, Coventry should begin to line up alternatives, and one man that should be at the top of that list is Burnley centre-back Joe Worrall.

Joe Worrall is out of favour at Burnley and would be ideal for Coventry

Coventry's interest in Woolfenden will stem from his no-nonsense, more old-school capabilities as a centre-back, albeit there remains a strong ability to play with the ball.

Woolfenden has also now got promotion-winning experience under his belt too, having been a key man for Kieran McKenna’s Town side that rose from League One to the Premier League in back-to-back seasons.

Well, Worrall falls very much into that category as well, with the 28-year-old Nottingham-born defender having also now earned himself a couple of promotions in the EFL.

Worrall captained Nottingham Forest to promotion out of the Championship in 2022, before going on to make 37 total appearances in the Premier League for the Reds, ahead of a loan move to Besiktas for the second half of the 2023/24 season.

Worrall then moved to Burnley for the 2024/25 campaign, and he played a bit part role (nine Championship appearances) for a Clarets side that were supreme as runners’ up last season, conceding just 16 goals in their 46 matches.

Worrall came off the bench for Burnley as they recently defeated Sunderland at Turf Moor in the Premier League, but with Scott Parker’s side having been so busy this summer, his already bit part role in Lancashire and suggestions that Burnley are interested in Metz centre-back Sadibou Sane, Worrall is surely likely to be on the fringes.

Joe Worrall could help Coventry solve defensive depth issue

The partnership of Bobby Thomas and Liam Kitching at the heart of their defence in a 4-2-3-1 system is an excellent one for Lampard, and finding a centre-back to come in and displace either would be difficult.

Coventry had previously been linked with a club-record move for Hull City defender Charlie Hughes, before seemingly turning their attention to Woolfenden of Ipswich.

Woolfenden has been an excellent servant for Ipswich, and he is a very good defender, but he's not necessarily someone who would be guaranteed a starting berth above Thomas and Kitching.

His strength and contribution to Coventry would have come in his leadership qualities and overall experience, whilst also being able to come in and ensure the floor of their defensive prowess is not low.

Worrall would be the ideal alternative for that, as was his role with Burnley last season behind the likes of Bashir Humphreys, CJ Egan-Riley and Maxime Esteve.

The experience that Worrall can provide would also surely be invaluable to an exciting and entertaining Coventry side that may well lack the nous to be a top two side just yet, but the former Rangers loanee could certainly help to provide that.