The Shopping List: CB

Some targets Coventry could & should be looking at. You can thank me later Dean Austin

Jun 02, 2025

Centre-Back

This is an interesting one. A lot of the focus has been in the forward areas, but this is a side that has just conceded more goals than Derby and Hull who finished 19th and 21st, and one less than Preston who finished 20th. The goals conceded highlights reel shows lots of goals that can be attributed to three things:

mistakes from the Keeper (which Dovin rectifies)
a weakness in the LB and LCB area (lots of goals from down that side)
a lack of pace at the back to recover from counter-attacks which are becoming more prevalent due to a high possession style of play.

Thomas has performed the best of the four, and Latibeaudiere serves an important squad role as back-up to Bobby, but also as cover at RB and CM. That suggests if we’re going to bring a CB in, we’d need to move on one of Kitching and Binks (seems very unlikely we’re going to carry 5 centre-halves). Kitching is the man in possession, but as a £3million signing, and with 2 years left on his contract would you want him sat on the bench? An pacy upgrade here, along with an improvement at LB, could solve a lot of our issues.

In an ideal world you’d plump for somebody like Chris Mepham who’s out of contract at AFC Bournemouth, and has had a strong season at Sunderland, but as you’ve seen last season with Joe Worrall, there will always be bigger fishes with parachute payments to mop these players up.

Chibuike Nwaiwu has been an absolute colossus for Austrian Cup winners Wolfsberger AC. Only signed from Nigerian side Enyimba Aba last summer, expect the 21 year old to move on again.

Subject of interest from Anderlecht, you’d be into the realms of €5million to acquire the youngster. His data has been fantastic, a quick, duel monster who’s good enough on the ball to play in midfield. Although right-footed, a third of his shots taken have been with his left, which suggests a player who is fairly two footed.

Talking of Anderlecht, they signed Lucas Hey a player I recommended in an article last December (approx €3million). His replacement in the side at Nordsjælland is Lucas Høgsberg, another ball-playing centre-half, and this time a left-footer. The young Dane, recently received his 1st international call-up although didn’t feature. His numbers suggest an even bigger talent than Hey, with West Ham rumoured to be interested. Wouldn’t come cheap.

Ryotaro Tsunoda is left-sided Japanese centre-back who hasn’t made a breakthrough at recently relegated Cardiff, but has just completed an excellent loan in Belgium. Ethan Pye has had another strong season at Stockport, and Mark McGuinness is too good to be in League One with Luton (although would be expensive).

I’ve profiled Anselmo Garcia McNulty before.

He’s had another impressive season at PEC Zwolle in Eredivisie (Hamer’s old club), playing at CB for the whole season (spent some time at LB last season). Valued at €1.5million on Transfermarket. These are excellent ball-playing numbers for a player in a mid-table side.