OPINION
Something’s in football are too deliciously perfect to ignore.
The fact that Arsene Wenger managed a club essentially named after him for two decades, or that East Fife did once, in fact, beat Forfar 5-4, albeit on penalties – these things are stupidly coincidental and endlessly amusing.
But strap yourself in pun-lovers and headline-writers alike, because it turns out the Conor Coventry, West Ham starlet with a big future ahead of him, is wanted by none other than Coventry City.
According to reliable source ExWHUemployee, speaking on the West Ham Way podcast, as cited by Twitter account West Ham News, the Midlanders are one of a number of clubs keen on the teenage midfielder.
Ipswich Town and Bolton Wanderers are also mentioned as potential destinations, although it’s fair to say that neither one would be as fun for the neutral.
On a serious note, however, sending Coventry out on loan is a smart idea.
The closest comparative the Hammers have in terms of a young player playing in a similar position who has broken into the senior team recently is Declan Rice.
The England international is a special talent, as shown by the 2.9 average tackles and pass completion rate of 86.4% in the Premier League last season, as per Whoscored, and while Coventry has the potential to replicate that kind of performance, not every player is going to walk straight into a Premier League midfielder and then on to the international scene.
But given the opportunity to play regular first team football in a lower league this season, growing and developing as he does so, Coventry could certainly come back as a talent much closer to the level of performance needed to follow in Rice’s footsteps.
Let’s just hope that he signs for Coventry.
