Coventry City are pricing themselves out of eight-figure windfall with punchy transfer demand: Opinion | OneFootball

Coventry City striker Viktor Gyokeres may be privately hoping to seal a move away from the Midlands club this summer after seeing his side fall at the final hurdle at Wembley.

Coming so close to securing promotion to the Premier League, only a penalty shootout prevented them from reaching the top flight in the end and that will be particularly gutting for Gyokeres who scored 21 league goals during the 2022/23 campaign.

No one in the Coventry squad deserves a place in the top tier more than the Sweden international who has been consistent during the past two seasons and a real game-changer for Mark Robins' men.

Robins' work does have to be commended because he's helped to transform the Sky Blues from a League Two outfit to Championship promotion chasers.

However, that wouldn't have been possible without Gyokeres who can be very prolific and create his own chances on his day.

How much will Coventry City star Viktor Gyokeres cost?

According to a report from the Sunday Mirror (4/6; p76), Coventry are keen to raise £30m from Gyokeres' sale in the summer, a sizeable amount considering his contract expires next year.

He would certainly be out of Rangers' price range with Michael Beale's side not able to secure any money from the departure of former key man Ryan Kent.

And it would be difficult to see other interested sides forking out that kind of fee too.

Even if some interested clubs have the ability to pay that amount for him, they are unlikely to considering they may be able to lure him away from the Coventry Building Society Arena.

And even if Gyokeres signs a new contract, his representatives have a decent amount of power at the negotiating table and may persuade the Sky Blues to insert a release clause which is likely to be much less than £30m.

Interested teams will almost certainly be able to lower that £30m price tag but even if they pay two-thirds of that, it may still be too much.

With this, Coventry may price themselves out of a sale, something they may regret next season if they lose the forward for free next year.

Coventry owner Doug King may be willing to keep hold of Gyokeres and risk losing him for free next year because of how much of a game-changer he can be.

In their quest to secure promotion next term, losing the 24-year-old would be a massive blow for the Sky Blues, and we have seen Championship clubs keep their best assets in the past and lose them for free.

Blackburn Rovers retained Ben Brereton Diaz in their quest to try and reach the top flight, West Bromwich Albion did the same with Sam Johnstone.

This is why Gyokeres' reported £30m price tag is believable at this point.

What does Viktor Gyokeres need to do?

If the Sky Blues' price tag is anywhere close to £30m, the striker needs to forget any potential move away from the CBS Arena this summer because no club will pay that sort of fee.

If he focuses on Coventry and avoids indulging himself in speculation about his future, that could increase his chances of being successful again next season, something that would increase his chances of having a decent number of contract offers on the table next year when he potentially becomes a free agent.