"Foolish" - Coventry City: Frank Lampard given Haji Wright transfer advice as Ipswich Town, Leicester City lurk | OneFootball

Coventry City have been told not to consider a mid-season sale of Haji Wright, who has earned interest from the Premier League

Coventry City have been urged to resist all potential transfer offers for Haji Wright, who is reportedly of interest to Premier League duo Ipswich Town and Leicester City this month.

Retaining Wright's services beyond the January transfer window could pose the most significant challenge yet for Frank Lampard, after he succeeded Mark Robins at the CBS Arena back in November.

It has been a mixed start for Lampard, whose record after nine matches at the helm reads three wins, three draws and three defeats. The Sky Blues have failed to win any of their last three fixtures, and fell to a dramatic 2-1 defeat away to Norwich City on the weekend courtesy of two added time goals from Forson Amankwah after being held to a draw at Cardiff City on New Year's Day.

Coventry's inconsistent form ultimately has them placed in mid-table. They're in 15th position at the time of writing - six points above the relegation zone, but eleven points away from sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion - and the extremely faint chance of pushing for the play-offs could make it difficult to convince key assets to remain with the club, such as Wright.

Ipswich Town, Leicester City interested in Coventry City's Haji Wright

According to a recent report by TBR Football, Ipswich and Leicester are both interested in the talented forward as they bid to stay in the Premier League this term.

It's said that Coventry would be open to sanctioning a sale for Wright, who they would reportedly double their investment on after paying £8 million to Turkish side Antalyaspor in the summer of 2023. Meanwhile, the report also suggests that Wright himself is "ready" to join a top-flight club, which may leave Coventry fighting a losing battle to retain him as the window goes on.

The 15-cap USA international enjoyed an impressive debut campaign in English football last time out, scoring 19 goals and adding seven assists across all competitions as Coventry made it all the way to an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United.

Wright started the season in a similar vein of form and returned seven strikes from his opening 15 appearances before suffering an ankle ligament injury, which has kept him out of Coventry's last ten matches, though he's now returned to training.

Coventry City, Frank Lampard urged to resist Haji Wright sale as Ipswich Town and Leicester City eye transfer

The winger's absence has been sorely felt by Lampard after taking charge, and he's quite arguably Coventry's single most important asset when available.

We asked our resident Sky Blues fan pundit, Ryan Murphy, whether he would sanction a sale at the right price or if the 26-year-old is irreplaceable, especially mid-season. Ryan believes it's likely Wright will move on come the end of the campaign, but no offers should be entertained just yet as Coventry cannot afford to lose him after suffering and dropping points in his absence.

"In regards to Haji Wright, you simply cannot sell him in January," Ryan told Football League World. "He's going to be like a new signing for Frank Lampard.

"He hasn't played once under him and has been unavailable through injury since before Frank came in through the door, and we have been screaming out for him.

"I think Lampard's record at Coventry would look a lot better if Wright was playing. You look at games like Millwall at home, we were screaming out for that extra bit of quality to turn that draw into a win and Wright is that player, same against Cardiff away there were sitters falling to Brandon Thomas-Asante and he missed, same at Norwich to kill the game off at 1-0 up.

"If Wright had played in all three of them, I'm convinced it's nine points and you probably look at some other games and think they're not losses but draws (with Wright).

"He's just got that extra bit of quality, he's our biggest attacking outlet, he always creates chances and always pops up with a goal, so you can't lose him in January. He's going to be massive for us.

"In the summer, if we haven't got anywhere this season and have just stayed in the division then I'd be surprised if he stays, but when you've still got a slim chance of climbing up the table when he's back and with a few more additions, you can't sell him - no matter what the price is.

"It would be foolish to let Wright go. As I say, I think he would've been the difference in many games he was out of and we would've had a lot more points on the board and be looking more towards the play-offs than we are, so do not sell Haji Wright."