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Coventry City link to midfielder competing with Jordan Henderson at Ajax hints at transfer priority
Further evidence has emerged that Coventry City attempted to sign a central midfielder in the summer, with reports from the Netherlands that the club had “almost reached an agreement” with Ajax for Benjamin Tahirović.
And although the deal didn’t come off, it is surely an indication of the Sky Blues’ transfer priorities and intentions in the upcoming January transfer window, when manager Mark Robins will be hoping owner Doug King will fund further strengthening of his side.
We already know that City tried and failed to sign Marko Stamenic in the last transfer window, with the 22-year-old New Zealand international opting to join Nottingham Forest instead, with the Reds immediately farming him out on loan to Olympiacos where he has made eight appearances for the Greek top flight side so far this season.
But another player on Head of Recruitment Dean Austin’s list of targets was Tahirović, according to Dutch sports reporter MikeVerweij, who writes for the Netherlands’ largest newspaper, De Telegraaf.
Verweij, who covers Ajax and the Dutch national team, and has over 133k followers on social media platform X, revealed Coventry ’s interest in the defensive midfielder on De Telegraaf’s ‘Kick-Off’ podcast at the weekend.
According to All About Ajax, an independent news site that covers the Dutch giants, the journalist claims Ajax had “almost reached an agreement with Coventry City on a transfer of Benjamin Tahirović last summer.”
He suggested that Ajax were looking to recoup some of their €8m investment in the 21-year-old they bought from Italian club AS Roma in the summer of 2023. However, it is claimed, Tahirović himself rejected the move, hoping to fight for his place at the club where he’s been competing with former Liverpool and England star Jordan Henderson for a place in the team, following the 34-year-old former Sky Blues’ loan man’s move from Saudi Arabia in January.
So far this term, however, the Bosnia and Herzegovina international has only played twice for Ajax – once in a 1-1 Europa League draw with Slavia Prague, when he went on from the bench in early October, and secondly, just over a week ago (Oct 27) when he started in the 1-0 win against Willem II in the Dutch Eredivisie, playing 77 minutes before being replaced by Henderson.
It remains to be seen whether the Sweden-born Tahirović will become more of a regular fixture for the club that currently sit in second place in the Dutch top flight, or become surplus to requirements and allowed to leave in January. And, indeed, whether City would resurrect their interest in the player.
