"A weird one" - Coventry City facing Ben Sheaf, Matt Grimes dilemma | OneFootball

FLW's Coventry City fan pundit has had his say on Frank Lampard's midfield options with Matt Grimes and Ben Sheaf at the club.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Coventry City signed Matt Grimes in January from Swansea City, with the midfielder featuring three times already for Frank Lampard's side.

Coventry's pursuit of Grimes was first called by BBC Sport Wales, and it was then revealed exclusively by Football League World that Swansea were demanding at least £3.5 million from Coventry to acquire Grimes' services.

Wales Online then reported that a fee had been agreed in that region, with that report stating that the fee is likely to be between £3.5 million to £4 million, meaning Grimes had played the last of his 333 games for the Swans.

There may not be resale value, but the calm, composed, and classy midfielder will raise the technical level of the midfield at the CBS Arena. He has proven with Swansea that he has the metronomic passing and the range of passes in his locker to control and dictate games.

Frank Lampard has midfield dilemma at Coventry City

Football League World has asked our Coventry fan pundit Chris Deez for his thoughts on Grimes' start to life at Cov, as well as how he has slotted into the starting Xi, and if he can be paired with Ben Sheaf as one of the best pairings in the league once Sheaf is fully fit.

He said: "I really, really like Matt Grimes. I was familiar with him at Swansea, but didn't follow him particularly well.

"I knew that he was a good, solid player. I knew he was a good holding midfielder. He has slotted right into our team and gelled with the rest of the side immediately.

"He's hit the ground running like a lot of our fans knew he was going to. There is a reason we paid around £3.5 million for a nearly 30-year-old midfielder.

"Lampard must have seen something in him and knew how he wanted to use him and how he was going to fit into the team.

"As for Sheaf, he is a weird one because, obviously, he has had a bad season for injury reasons. Every time he has come back, he has very quickly got injured again.

"His performances seem to dip a little bit as well. We don't know if maybe interest from other clubs has potentially turned his head a little bit? Ipswich wanted him, and, in hindsight, I sort of wished we had sold him as well.

"I don't think we will get anywhere near to what sort of price-tag was being quoted before. But it's also unfair not to mention Josh Eccles as well. I absolutely love Eccles, who gives his heart and soul for the team. He has earned his place in the starting line-up and earned taking over as captain for his time there.

"I don't know, because I don't see us playing with all three of them. I also don't see how Victor Torp fits in there as well, because he deserves to be starting. Jack Rudoni, obviously, has to start.

"Do we then play with wingers or wing-backs and have just one striker up front? There are a lot of questions. We have got a lot of very good players to fit in there."

For many neutrals, Coventry have one of the strongest engine rooms in the division, as Sheaf and Grimes combine a destructive force with real physicality and a midfield technician with composure and calm. However, Chris is not sure Sheaf's future is as secure at the CBS Arena now.

He added: "Sheaf, I'm not really that bothered. I would now be more than happy if we sold him in the summer for £10 million - £15 million, ideally. Then use that money to give Lampard a really big boost.

"Let him just completely gut the team and do whatever he needs to do to it and bring in whoever he wants. I don't see them all working together. I think they are too similar as well.

"I don't see us playing with two central defensive midfielders, so it's a really tricky one. Lampard has got his work cut out really in sorting out the midfield.

"He's already done a really good job sorting it out and getting the best out of players like Torp and Eccles. It'll be interesting to see how he adapts and molds the team around those players."