Coventry City has recently developed a reputation for uncovering hidden gems in the transfer market, and Tyler Goodrham of Oxford United might be their next signing.
The Sky Blues have made significant gains from the recent sales of Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer, allowing both to blossom under Mark Robins’ direction.
With nearly £25 million recouped from selling the duo to Sporting Lisbon and Sheffield United, respectively, last summer, City have a track record of producing a healthy profit from previous transfers, and the 20-year-old might well fit the bill ahead of the summer transfer window.
A number of Championship clubs were thought to be circling in January, with the Sky Blues among them, and a return to the Kassam Stadium might unearth the latest jewel to be granted permission to thrive at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
During the previous transfer window, Bristol City, Middlesbrough, and Hull City were all rumoured to be interested in Goodrham’s talents, in addition to Coventry.
One area where the Sky Blues will have a more appealing deal in the race to sign the Oxford United player is Robins’ ability to improve a player’s game while nurturing them on the training field, as we have seen time and time again over his seven years with the club.
You simply have to look at Gyokeres or Hamer to see how their talent has improved under the former Manchester United manager, while his faith in Callum O’Hare has paid off with numerous match-winning performances from the ex-Aston Villa midfielder.
Goodrham might be the latest recruit to use City as a springboard into the upper echelons of the game, with the Midlands club potentially earning a tidy sum if yet another young talent goes on to prove themselves worthy of even greater success.
With O’Hare’s future at the club still uncertain following his refusal to sign a contract extension with the club beyond this summer, City will be looking for a new dynamic talent to create and convert opportunities in the final third for next season, and Goodrham has demonstrated that he is the man for the job.
This season’s 12 goals barely paint half the picture of the attacker, who earned Irish citizenship last summer in the hopes of playing for the national team, with his ability to take the game by the scruff of the neck aiding the U’s League One promotion quest.
His ability to hammer in efforts from a distance, combined with his elegance when inside the penalty box, providing him a threat from all angles in the final third, as his match-winning brace against Charlton Athletic demonstrated earlier this season.
That ability to find the target from 20 yards or more is essential to any club, as is the capacity to turn a game around from low xG chances, which is something that a club like Coventry will be looking for in their statistical recruitment process.
The Sky Blues will have seen that quality firsthand earlier in the season, when Goodrham scored in a 6-2 defeat to the Championship side in the third round of the FA Cup, kicking off Coventry’s journey to the competition’s semi-finals.
Another spectacular attempt from outside the penalty area went unrewarded that day, but the 20-year-old still managed to make an impact against a team a division above.
Despite Oxford’s season stalling with Liam Manning’s departure to Bristol City, Goodrham has continued to excel under new manager Des Buckingham, albeit he has missed a few games due to injury in 2024.
The U’s stepped fast to put an end to any rumours of a January move, signing Goodrham to a new long-term contract at the Kassam Stadium in the first two weeks of 2024, ensuring they do not lose one of their top marksmen for peanuts.
The new contract is said to keep the player at the club until the summer of 2027, but his statements after signing will give Cov optimism that he will return during the off-season.
He told the Oxford Mail, “I am really buzzing. It’s been a goal of mine for a long time, and to finally have it completed makes me very happy.
“It’s a huge accomplishment for me, and I enjoy being here I love being a part of it. That stability is always nice, whatever job you’re in.
I want to go and play in the Premier League, and that’s what I work for, and why I come here every day to be better, and hit that ceiling.”
The U’s forward obviously has hopes to play as high as possible, and he certainly has the potential to get right to the pinnacle of the sport if given the opportunity.
No club in the EFL offers better circumstances to prove exactly what you’ve got than Coventry City at the minute, and with the club being run so well they rarely stand in a player’s way if they want to make the move to the higher level, as long as they are well reimbursed.
There will be plenty of eyes on the exciting attacker between now and the end of the season, and with huge windfalls from previous sales last summer, City could hold all the cards in tempting the latest shining star to join their journey.
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