Coventry City should look to all-action Premier League midfielder if Gustavo Hamer leaves for Burnley: Opinion | OneFootball

Coventry's superb run to the Championship play-off final last season could come at a cost with their two most valuable assets being linked heavily with other clubs.

Viktor Gyokeres' superb season has seen him on the brink of a £20.5m move to Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon, leaving the club to sign Everton starlet Ellis Simms for a fee that could reach £8m to replace his goals. It's a huge fee for Coventry, their biggest ever, but selling might not be done there. Dutch midfield metronome Gustavo Hamer has also been linked with a move away from the CBS Stadium, with Burnley being credited with an interest alongside Fulham as Premier League interest picks up.

However, with Coventry acting quick to replace their Swedish goalscorer, they could do the same with Hamer - and as Bournemouth star Emiliano Marcondes sees himself on the fringes of their team, Mark Robins could bring him in should Hamer leave.

What would Emiliano Marcondes bring to Coventry City?

Marcondes moved to Brentford in the winter of 2018 and began life slowly in the English capital with 13 appearances that season and just 13 the next.

However, he slowly made his impression upon Thomas Frank and became a first-team fixture as the Bees progressed to two Championship play-off finals, losing the first time around vs Fulham before getting the better of Swansea with their second bite of the cherry.

The Dane’s goal in the win over the Welsh outfit proved that he, like Hamer, is a player for the big occasion by scoring on the Wembley turf - and that can only translate to good things throughout the season. Naturally, as the Bees progressed to the Premier League, Marcondes was deemed surplus to requirements, with the signings of Frank Onyeka, Kristoffer Ajer, and even Christian Eriksen in January throughout the season.

But after firing Bournemouth to promotion in the 2021/22 season, he wasn’t featured in their squad either, going out on loan to Nordsjaelland, the club where it all began.

As he is seemingly out of the first-team picture at the Vitality Stadium, Marcondes has proved twice that he can be part of a promotion-winning club, and is entering his prime at the age of 28. He may be a player that lies slightly further forward of Hamer on the pitch, but coming at a snip of the potential fee for Hamer, he could well excel in the Midlands should a move be made for his services.

Having never picked up a transfer fee so far in his career, it is hard to gauge just where Bournemouth would stand on a potential fee for his services.

With just one year left on his contract and having only once in the Premier League for the Cherries, Marcondes surely wouldn’t cost a huge amount. Transfermarkt values him at £1.3million, which may be a little below what the Bees ask for but not too far.

With Hamer likely to cost north of £10m, Coventry would be preserving a lot of the money they received for both the Dutchman and Gyokeres, which means they could use that cash to strengthen in other areas of the pitch.