The Shopping List: CM

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

Jun 04, 2025

Centre-Midfield.

This seems to hinge on Ben Sheaf. With Grimes, Sheaf, Eccles, Torp and Allen, we’re pretty well stacked in the centre of the park. Without a departure you wouldn’t expect a signing.

Sheaf is out of contract in 12 months (although there are unconfirmed reports that there is a 1 year extension option in the clubs favour), and at this point due to form and injury wouldn’t command the kind of fee he could of last year. It’s worth pointing out that despite only playing 2,500 minutes, and a perception that he’s not at his best, his numbers are still excellent.

There’s also a chance Allen’s contract was extended by 12 months purely to be able to command a fee for him, with him moving on anyway.

Silas Andersen is a making a major impression for Hacken in Allsvenskan.

The Danish youngster moved early from FC Copenhagen to Inter Milan. Unable to break through, he moved to FC Utrecht and despite excellent performances for their B side in the Dutch 2nd tier, again no breakthrough. That led to a €1million move to Hacken in January, and now aged 20 he’s quickly shown he’s too good to be playing in Allsvenskan.

He’s played a mixture of CB and CM in Sweden, but is more at home in the centre of the park. He’s a good athlete, standing at 6ft2. Would be a development project to start with, but there’s more to come. Under contract to 2028.

Twice capped by Japan, and in their most recent squad, Joel Fujita has barely missed a minute for St. Truiden in Belgium, getting better and better as the season has progressed, really improving in his 2nd season in Europe.

Really tidy on the ball, he gets through a huge amount of defensive work. 9 recoveries per 90 is higher than Sheaf managed in the 23/24 season. He’d be an ideal foil for the other more creative midfielders, and his off the ball work would leave Coventry less exposed to counter attacks. Transfermarket have him valued at €2.2million, there’s no info on his contract length.

Mario Dorgeles is already an Ivorian international having made 83 appearances for Nordsjælland. Normally on the left of a central midfield three, he has occasionally featured on the left-wing. 93% passing accuracy is top drawer, although he is playing in a possession dominant team. The passing stats do stand up in international and Conference League appearances too. He’s playing in a slightly more advanced role than previously in Denmark. Ball recovery numbers in previous seasons have been very strong. Valued at €3.5 and has 2 years left on his contract.

Lewis Bate previously of Chelsea and Leeds, will be in the reconning for Stockport’s player of the season. His injury in April really hampered them in their push for promotion. Very much in the Grimes mould, as a deep-lying playmaker. You’d need some good physicality alongside him to allow him to flourish as a ball-player. Djurgarden’s Matias Siltanen is already in the Finland squad at 18, and is of a similar profile, he could be an excellent development project if Allen were to leave. There are worse options than taking a look at former Sky Blue Liam Walsh.

A lot of the centre-midfielders I’ve previously looked at have got their moves. Tahirovic went from Ajak to Brondby, Nikitscher from Kecskeméti TE to now relegated Real Valladolid. Kyprianou will join Watford this summer.

Tiago Dantas is another one I’ve looked at before. Portuguese U21 international, who after spells at Benfica and Bayern Munich, has ended up at Osijek in Croatia. Valued at €3million and out of contract at the end of the season. Dantas is a diminutive creator.

He’s not your modern day box to box athlete. He works hard off the ball (7.5 recoveries per 90) but he’s not a duel merchant. You gave him the ball and let him go to work. He passes, he creates.A Barry Bannan type. Massive credit to the Croatians (Osijek are 5th in HNL) for picking him up, the data was all there from his loan at AZ Alkmaar. He’d probably wouldn’t be a week-in week-out signing, but a point of a difference to help you unlock a defence.