"£10m-£12m, I'd be really happy" - Coventry City backed to sanction player exit in summer | OneFootball

Our Fan Pundit has told his what he believes the Coventry full-back is worth

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 reportedly turned down a bid from Serie A outfit AS Roma for defender Milan van Ewijk.

That’s according to a report from Dutch outlet SoccerNews, who revealed that Roma had tabled a bid in January, but the Championship club were demanding a fee higher than the Italians were willing to go to.

It wasn’t the only admiration for Van Ewijk declared in the winter window, with Premier League Fulham also credited with an interest.

We asked our Coventry Fan Pundit, Chris, whether now is the time to cash in on the former Netherlands youth international.

May soon to be time to wave goodbye to Milan van Ewijk at Coventry

Speaking to Football League World, Chris said: “Milan is a tricky one. Last season he was incredible. He was one of our best players by far. He only cost us £4million, which looked to be an absolute bargain.

“He was always going to garner attention from big European clubs. I know that there was some interest from Fulham, probably some other Premier League teams and then Roma as well.

“I'm glad that we kept him. He's really inconsistent. For a couple of games, he'll be incredible, but this season so far, he has quite a few times been one of our worst players.

“I don't know if maybe his head's been turned a little bit. That's the sort of feeling that we got with Ben Sheaf quite a few times as well.

“If we are still a Championship club next season, I think he'll be gone. I know that teams in Turkey as well, Galatasaray for example, were also interested in him. I can't imagine he'll turn down playing for these European giants to stay in, you know, little old Coventry, much as I'd like him to stay.

“In terms of a price tag, I think I saw rumours of around £10million, £12million being floated around. If we can get double what we paid for him, we have to let him go because, you know, Matty Grimes cost £3.5million and he's looking like he's going to be a great signing already.

“If we can get two or three players of Grimes's quality using the money that we get from selling Van Ewijk, then I'll be more than happy with that.

“As I say, he was my favourite player last season, absolutely incredible, ridiculously fast, putting in great balls that we've not had from a full-back in ages.

“But if the money's right, we can't hold him to ransom, and we can't keep them here. We can't keep turning down offers for him: £10m-£12m, I'd be really happy.”

Now may be the time to cash in

It’s clear by the teams eyeing Van Ewijk that his stock is still high, despite him not always living up to last season’s level.

Van Ewijk will turn 25 at the beginning of next season, the sort of age players tend to leave “prospect” status and begin being seen as entering their prime years.

If the Dutchman does begin to drop off at all on a consistent basis, then, at the age he’s getting to, his value will go the same way.

If Coventry aren’t to go up this season, then the end of this season might be the most opportune moment to sell and, as Chris says, invest in a few quality additions elsewhere.