Coventry City: Mark Robins issues Callum O'Hare update as Aston Villa and West Ham circle | OneFootball

Coventry City manager Mark Robins says he does not expect midfielder Callum O'Hare to sign a new contract at the club.

After being sidelined for almost a year with a serious knee injury, O'Hare has been in outstanding form since returning to fitness in October.

While the Sky Blues have missed out on the play-off places in the Championship, O'Hare has been crucial to their rise up the table in recent months, and he also played a key role as they reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

O'Hare's profile was raised as he scored in the thrilling 3-3 draw against Manchester United in the semi-final at Wembley last month, and he is on the radar of a number of clubs ahead of the summer transfer window.

Aston Villa, West Ham United, Fulham, Leicester City, Celtic, Rangers and clubs from La Liga have all been linked with O'Hare, and with his contract at the CBS Arena set to expire, Coventry could lose him for free.

The Sky Blues have offered O'Hare a new contract, but he is said to have rejected the proposal, and the latest update from Robins will not give supporters much hope that the 26-year-old will remain at the club.

Mark Robins on Callum O'Hare's Coventry City future

While Robins said that O'Hare could change his mind and commit his future to the club, he admitted that it looks likely he will be departing this summer.

"We need more goals from midfield, and with what’s looking like Callum moving on we are looking at that and what happens next," Robins told Coventry Live.

"But who knows, Callum may turn around at the end of this season, although I doubt it, and say he wants to stay. But we don’t know yet. It’s one of those things where we can hope, but whatever happens we will look to improve where we can and those are the things Adi (Viveash) and I have spoken about in terms of what we can do, what we have in the building and how are we going to approach things and change our focus.

"I don’t want to give too much away, but we’re well on with it, so in our minds our focus is there. We need a break, to be fair, so we’ll have a holiday, but otherwise we will be working throughout the summer."

Coventry City must hold firm in the summer transfer window

While O'Hare's imminent exit will be disappointing for Coventry supporters, it is not unexpected given his reluctance to put pen-to-paper on a new contract.

O'Hare has no shortage of Premier League suitors after an excellent season, and with the Sky Blues failing to reach the play-offs, it was always going to be tough for them to keep hold of him.

With O'Hare departing, it makes it essential that Coventry retain their other key players this summer, including the likes of Ben Sheaf, Ellis Simms and Haji Wright, who could all attract interest from elsewhere.

The Sky Blues made a slow start to this season after Victor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer departed in the summer, and it is important they avoid similar disruption this time around in order to mount a serious promotion push next term.