Forget £10m deal, holding off Ipswich Town could be Coventry City's best business all summer: View | OneFootball

Retaining Ben Sheaf could be a real game-changer for the Sky Blues, who have a strong squad at their disposal ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

Highlights

Coventry City have made a productive start to the summer transfer window.

Not only has Raphael Borges Rodrigues joined, but Luis Binks has joined the Sky Blues permanently following last season's loan spell and Jack Rudoni has now made the switch from Huddersfield Town.

Looking at their squad, they are looking very strong ahead of the new season already, and there's still plenty of time for them to make a number of key additions before the start of the 2024/25 campaign.

The goalkeeping department is an area that Mark Robins may want to have a look at despite having two senior options there - and a replacement for Callum O'Hare will also be needed if Rudoni isn't going to play in an advanced midfield role.

O'Hare looks destined to leave the club and considering the impact his departure may have, a replacement will be required.

In the wing department, they have boosted their options with the signings of Ephron Mason-Clark and Rodrigues, but an addition may be needed in the striker area.

Ellis Simms, Haji Wright, Fabio Tavares and Matt Godden are all available as striker options, but Wright can operate out wide, Tavares hasn't made a huge impact during his time at the Coventry Building Society Arena and Godden's future may be uncertain.

Sheaf was a vital player for the Sky Blues last term - and he can count himself unlucky not to have won promotion from this level already.

Not only did he play a huge role in the middle of the park during the 2023/24 campaign, but he also found himself in the right places at the right times, with his FA Cup goal against Oxford United back in January reinforcing that.

His all-round game makes him such a valuable player to have at this level, with his passing, tackling and ability to be a threat in the final third making him one of the most complete midfielders in the division.

Losing a player of Gus Hamer's quality last year was a blow, but Sheaf has stepped up in his place and been a real asset, though he could benefit from having a long-term midfield partner alongside him.

Josh Eccles could be the man to start alongside him, but Rudoni has arrived now and he could end up playing in a deep midfield role along with Sheaf.

Rudoni's presence could enhance the midfielder's game further and with the latter likely to leave a huge void to be filled if he leaves, it may be the Sky Blues' best bit of summer business if they retained the ex-Arsenal man, even with Rudoni's £10m arrival in mind.

Retaining Sheaf wouldn't just be a great move just because he's an excellent asset to have on the pitch, but also because of the volume of interest that he has generated in recent months, with Ipswich Town one team thought to be interested in him.

His contract doesn't expire until the summer of 2026, so there's no major pressure on Coventry to cash in on him this summer.

Retention could be better than purchasing at Coventry City this summer

Looking at their squad on paper, there are clearly one or two areas that need to be looked at.

However, keeping other star players aside from Sheaf would also help the Sky Blues in their 2024/25 promotion quest.

Retaining their current defenders, some of whom only joined last summer, could help to maintain stability at the back.

Eccles is also an important, versatile player and Kasey Palmer could be a good squad option to have for the central advanced midfield role.

Unfortunately, it seems inevitable that O'Hare will leave, but keeping Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Simms and Wright could help to compensate for that.

It wouldn't be a surprise if Simms (pictured above) attracted plenty of interest this summer after scoring 19 goals in all competitions last term, but retaining him will be important.