Frank Lampard on Coventry City’s ‘very strategic’ approach to January transfers
Frank Lampard has revealed he has a number of “different options” as he looks to strengthen his Coventry City squad for the here and now in the January transfer window.
While the Sky Blues boss insists the club are taking a “very strategic” approach to their mid-term recruitment and not ruling out deals for the longer term, he admits he’d like fresh players in to help at this moment in time.
One of the head coach’s priorities is out wide where Ephron Mason-Clark is estimated to be out injured for another four weeks with a hamstring strain while leading scorer Haji Wright, who is also regularly deployed on the left wing, is yet to return to the grass as he continues his rehab from an ankle ligament injury that has forced him to miss 11 games to date.
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Tatsuhiro Sakamoto has been a regular on the other side of the pitch where we await to see whether summer signing Raphael will be strong enough to compete for the position.
City have so far been linked with two marauding full-backs, rather than wingers, in German Kai Wagner, who is currently plying his trade in the USA with MLS side Philadelphia Union, and Nigerian wing-back Ahmad Ghali – a 24-year-old who plays for Czech club Slovan Liberec and has made 19 appearances mainly at right wing-back this season, although he can also operate as a winger.
Talented Aston Villa winger Louie Barry has also been linked with interest from the Sky Blues among a number of Championship clubs keen to take him on loan for the second half of the season.
Asked if he is anywhere near making any new signings, Lampard said: “No, as in there isn’t any news to give you but we want to help the squad if we can. We’ve got different options and if we want to bring someone in it has to be to improve us and help us right in this moment, or improve us in long term.
“I think we have to be very strategic about that and obviously I want to be able to do that because it helps my job and I want to form the team as I see it. So those are things we need to get right, not just in this window. So it’s what can help us now in certain areas but also what maybe we want to do for the longer term, so those are our discussions.”
In terms of any outgoings, Lampard has made his stance clear that he wants to keep his front line players for the remainder of the season. Blackburn Rovers have made inquiries about the availability of defender Liam Kitching, while reports earlier in the week claimed Leicester City were considering making a move for striker Wright.
But asked if the club have had any offers or inquiries about his players, the head coach insisted: “No, not as far as I am aware and I don’t want them to go anywhere. So it’s simple.”