Coventry City still hold high hopes of sneaking into the play-off places come the end of the season.
The Sky Blues have a chance of squeaking inside the top six with nine games remaining of the regular season, sitting just a point off Hull City and Norwich City for that final spot.
Last season, Mark Robins’ team came dangerously close to making it back to the Premier League after defeating Middlesbrough over two legs in the play-off final, losing on penalties to Luton Town.
After the summer transfer window, Coventry confirmed the departures of two players who were crucial to their team’s success the previous season: midfielder Gustavo Hamer, who signed with Sheffield United, and top scorer Viktor Gyokores, who moved to Sporting Lisbon, a major team in Portugal, where he has continued to score goals in Southern Europe, deflated expectations at the CBS Arena.
The East Midlands-based team decided to use some of the money it had acquired for the Swedish marksman, who was reportedly valued at £18.5 million, and another £15 million for Hamer, to acquire American striker Haji Wright from Turkish team Antalyaspor.
The 25-year-old was acquired by the Sky Blues for a reportedly club-record £7.7 million, and Coventry fans are starting to see why the investment was made after he had a strong run of goal-scoring form leading up to the final stretch.
Haji Wright’s debut season for Coventry City
Wright would open his account in the second division on his home debut in a 3-0 victory over Middlesbrough. Wright was used to lead the line or be a presence out wide.
The frontman, who was born in California, scored nine goals against Blackburn Rovers after a slow start to his career.
Between November and December, Wright would start to show signs of improvement, tallying six goals and three assists in 12 games before 2024.
Wright had a brief lapse in goal scoring, but over the course of the last month, he managed to reclaim the title of Coventry’s top scorer for the season. He scored twice in a 2-1 victory over Millwall in February, added penalties against Watford and West Brom, and netted a winner against the Hornets to keep the team just one goal out of the play-offs.
In addition to his 13 Championship goals, Wright has also shown himself to be a reliable provider, dishing out six assists so far this season in matches against Watford, Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, and both Swansea City encounters.
Coventry City supporters are beginning to believe in Haji Wright investment
It’s reasonable to say that many Coventry supporters wouldn’t have predicted Wright’s goal total going into the last stretch of the season, given his sluggish start to life in the East Midlands.
Although filling the enormous void left by Gyokores was always going to be a difficult challenge, Wright’s ability to contribute just under 20 goals in his debut season shows that he has what it takes to be a major player in the English game in the coming years.
For Coventry right now, Wright is undoubtedly a work in progress. The American likely feels he should have even more goals on his record after squandering some significant opportunities this campaign. Wright will be upset that despite his 29 shots on goal, he has not yet found the back of the net more than 13 times.
Despite this, Wright is showing encouraging signs. He keeps putting himself in positions where he may score goals and will surely become better with time, increasing his total.
If Wright can continue his current trend of goal scoring, the Sky Blues could challenge Coventry for promotion, since they are still in the running.
If their current goal-scoring performance offers them another chance to qualify for the Premier League, then Coventry’s investment will be viewed as a brilliant move.
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