Coventry City

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

Last season, the Premier League was arguably more competitive than it has been for years.

While the 65 points between champions Arsenal and bottom side Wolves was around the average for a 38-game season (63), a real revolution took place in mid-table.

Since the league was reduced to 20 teams in 1995-96, the gap between the top four and the bottom three – between what has often been the Champions League and the Championship – had been increasing as the seasons went by, with the 'bigger' clubs profiting from their European adventures and the extra money they earned by regularly finishing higher in the table.

But last season, the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' of the Premier League dropped from 44 points in 2024-25 to just 26 points – the smallest distance for 23 years (since 25 points in 2002-03).

The European places were more attainable than they had been for years. Despite taking a point fewer than when they finished seventh the season before, Aston Villa clinched Champions League qualification by finishing two places higher.

While Liverpool took the 'bonus' Champions League place by finishing fifth, their points total of 60 was the lowest by a side finishing there for 19 years and would have put them ninth in 2024-25.

Bournemouth and Sunderland also took full advantage of needing fewer points than normal by qualifying for European competition for the first time ever and for over half a century respectively.

Read more on the Premier League's competitive numbers

Image source, Coventry City FC

Latest Coventry signing Taiwo Awoniyi has praised his new team-mates' "amazing" and "incredible" Championship-winning campaign last season.

The 29-year-old striker has completed a move from Nottingham Forest for about £9m. BBC Sport previously understood the deal would be worth about £17m.

He will hope to lead the line for Sky Blues boss Frank Lampard in the club's first Premier League campaign since 2000-01. Coventry stormed to the Championship title with 95 points last season, 11 points clear of second place Ipswich Town.

"I'm very happy," Awoniyi said. "I am very excited about this season, and I can't wait to get started. I'm really looking forward to working with my new team-mates.

"I have seen how amazing they have been last season, coming up from the Championship. They were incredible and now I am just excited to join them and get started for the new season."

The Nigeria international scored 23 goals in 103 appearances for Forest and has netted twice in 10 for his country.

He was given a guard of honour by the Forest squad and staff before the second half of their final pre-season friendly against Brest on Sunday to allow him to say goodbye at the City Ground.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who Coventry City have agreed a deal worth about £17m for.

Here are some of your comments:

Isaac: I think we have paid a bit too much for him, but I do believe he is the type of experienced Premier League striker we desperately need.

Alan: Awoniyi is a big, awkward, bustling centre-forward with a good average goals-per-game record. He may represent value for money, but I think he'll be a squad player at best. Is he better than Ellis Simms?

Alfred: Probably more than I'd have liked to pay for him given his age and contract length with Forest, but by all accounts a capable player with experience at this level and incredibly well-liked in the dressing room. I think this will be a signing considered well worth it if we stay up, but a bit risky if we're adrift by Christmas.

Dale: It's better than thinking Simms can do it in the Premier League, so it's a good signing.

Coventry City's Premier League return is almost here and BBC CWR is bringing the fans centre stage tonight.

We're hosting a Sky Blues Fancast Live Fans' Forum from 18:00 BST, featuring two former captains - Liam Kelly and Carl Baker.

They'll be joined by myself and BBC CWR sports editor Rob Gurney, plus a panel of regular Sky Blue Fancasters as we dig into the big talking points going into the new season.

Be part of the build‑up and hear it all unfold on FM, DAB, BBC Sounds and on your smart speaker.

Listen live here from 18:00, or hit play below once the show has finished and also hear the fancast in full on BBC Sounds here

Listen to Sky Blues Fancast Live every Monday and Friday at 18:00 and subscribe to the Coventry City page on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Coventry City have agreed a deal worth about £17m to sign Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi.

Awoniyi became Forest's record signing at the time when he joined from Union Berlin in 2022 for £17.2m.

The 29-year-old scored 23 goals in 103 games for Forest but has been behind Chris Wood and Igor Jesus in the pecking order and was left out of last season's Europa League squad.

The Nigeria international started just three games last season, scoring four goals in 17 appearances in all competitions.

In May 2025 he was placed in an induced coma, rupturing an intestine when he collided with a post during a game against Leicester.

What do you make of Awoniyi? Is he the sort of striker Coventry need? Or is his price tag too high?

Get in touch with your views here

Coventry City are closing in on the signing of Sidiki Cherif from Fenerbahce after agreeing a deal for the Guinea forward, 19. (Give Me Sport), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

There were plenty of positives to take from Coventry City's pre-season win over AS Monaco.

Firstly, it was an impressive unofficial debut for Caleb Yirenkyi, who at 20-years-old looks more than ready to make the step up to England's top-flight.

The Ghana midfielder won duals and was comfortable on the ball, setting up fellow new signing Loum Tchaouna to double Coventry's lead just after the half an hour mark.

The Sky Blues were confident on and off the ball, with Ellis Simms showing his physicality in the opening goal and throughout the 90 minutes.

Goalkeeper Carl Rushworth also made a handful of decent saves, further proving why the Sky Blues paid a reported £22.5m for his services.

It could have been 3-0 after Switzerland centre-back Aurele Amenda had his goal ruled out for offside in the second half.

But, the headline of the evening was Gustavo Hamer's return.

Coventry supporters serenaded the man who scored 19 goals in 132 outings during his last spell at the club for 13 minutes while waiting for him to come on for Yirenkyi.

And when Hamer finally stepped on to the pitch in the 65th minute, there was a full standing ovation from the fans as they welcomed him back from his spell at Sheffield United.

Frank Lampard's side will conclude their pre-season with a behind closed doors friendly on Saturday, with those who didn't play on Friday expected to feature.

Lampard confirmed Jack Rudoni, who underwent shoulder surgery this summer, could get some minutes, whilst Haji Wright remains sidelined with a quad injury.

The omission of last season's top goal-scorer Wright puts inevitable pressure on Simms ahead of Coventry's return to the top-flight, starting with their trip to reigning champions Arsenal.

But with the transfer window still open, there could yet be more additions before Friday's season opener.

Image source, Getty Images

Coventry boss Frank Lampard was full of praise for his team's "performances and attitude" as they warmed up for next weekend's Premier league return with an impressive 2-0 win over Monaco at the Coventry Building Society Arena on Friday night.

First half goals from Ellis Simms and Loum Tchaouna were to be enough to defeat the Ligue 1 side, with the highlight of the second period being the return of Gustavo Hamer which drew a huge cheer from the home crowd.

"It was a great fixture because they're a high level team," Lampard said post-match.

"We needed that with what is coming next week and I thought we were really good. The first half was excellent, a lot of elements I really liked. The goals were brilliant, both of them in their nature.

"In general, defending off the ball and what you have to do against these team in and out of possession negating the spaces, we did really well.

"The performance and attitude was great. From the beginning of pre-season the group has worked really hard.

"It was good on fitness, good on strategy. Second half was a bit less so but that's normal against this level of opposition."

You can listen to Lampard's full post-match chat below or on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Coventry fan Hannah has been telling BBC CWR about the new women's network she is part of setting up for Sky Blues supporters.

"It is really nice to feel that you have a community. For example, I don't have loads of other women friends that are into football, so you don't always have a readymade group of people to go with.

"Traditionally, football has been a very male, heterosexual environment, and I think that does feed into many elements of the game.

"Having groups such as Proud Sky Blues and women's groups is really important because I do think our voices are always stronger as a collective.

"The atmosphere at Coventry is good in general. We certainly haven't set up this group because we feel that there's a problem towards women at Coventry."

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here

Rob Gurney
BBC CWR sports editor

Image source, Getty Images

Coventry City fans have wanted Gustavo Hamer to return ever since he left.

He has a really strong bond with the supporters and he spends a lot of his time in Leamington Spa still. Lots of fans have bumped into him over the course of the past three years!

On the face of it, re-signing him is another really good piece of business by the Sky Blues.

But he comes back on a huge wave of emotion from the supporters, so let's hope to see those set-plays he's so good at as well as him unlocking Premier League defences.

We spoke about it a lot last season, but team spirit and bond was key, and it's quite easy to derail all of that by bringing in the wrong characters to try and improve the squad.

It doesn't look like Frank Lampard has done that at all because all the newcomers are fitting in seamlessly.

Selling Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer three years ago was very sensible business. It enabled Mark Robins, and now Frank Lampard, to build a squad that won the Championship to get to the Premier League.

Owner Doug King has splashed the cash and spent a ball-point figure of £100m - although all the fees are undisclosed these days.

I still think Coventry need a number nine though, as there are a lot of rumours around Haji Wright being injured and that puts an enormous pressure on Ellis Simms.

Listen to Sky Blues Fancast Live every Monday and Friday at 18:00 and subscribe to the Coventry City page on BBC Sounds

If you want to meet Coventry City players then there is only one bar to go to - Fizzy Moon Brewhouse & Grill in Leamington Spa.

The players have enjoyed many a night out in the family-run business over the years, including multiple Premier League promotion parties.

Rohan has been speaking to BBC CWR about what it's been like to host the Sky Blues players over the years.

Listen to the full chat by pressing play below or on BBC Sounds here

It is common practice these days for transfer fees to have performance-based add-ons. The theory is the selling club gains more if the player goes on to be extremely successful, while the buying club is to some extent protected financially if the transfer doesn't work out.

In some cases, the total value of add-ons is significant - Real Madrid could end up paying an extra £30m to Borussia Dortmund for Jude Bellingham depending on how successful he is over the course of his career in the Spanish capital, for example.

In others, like the potential £1.7m worth of add-ons Brighton's £29.78m signing of Greece Under-21 forward Charalampos Kostoulas, are less significant.

Clubs sometimes say add-ons are 'easily achievable' or 'difficult'.

Easier-to-achieve add-ons can include things like making a basic number of appearances, or scoring a certain amount of goals. Add-ons can also be attached to a team's success rather than the individual player's - a club may agree to an add-on requiring an extra payment if they qualify for Europe, for example.

Others can be more ambitious - tied to extreme levels of individual or collective success, like winning the Champions League or the Ballon d'Or.

An example of the difficulty add-ons can present when discussing valuations would be the claims made in the Portuguese media in 2022 that the first additional payment in Darwin Nunez's £64m-plus-add-ons move from Benfica to Liverpool was triggered by the Uruguayan making just 10 appearances.

Then Liverpool boss Arne Slot rejected speculation he had not started Nunez in some games because it would trigger an additional payment.

Whether Liverpool paid more for Nunez, or club captain Virgil van Dijk - for whom they paid a flat fee of £75m to Southampton in 2017 - cannot be determined without knowing exactly what add-ons were included in the Nunez deal, then figuring out which conditions he has and has not met.

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We asked for your views on the news Gus Hamer is returning to Coventry City.

Here are some of your comments:

Trevor: Absolutely made up with Gus returning. Just need a striker to complete a great transfer window. Confident Coventry will be competitive.

Gary: Absolutely the best signing of the summer for us so far. Sweet feeling getting him back where he belongs!

Dan: No feeling like it. So, so happy Gus is back! Genuinely think Hamer will play more of a role than people expect.

Simon: It's one of those full-circle moments, and thankfully he's still got a good few years in him. Fans love him, he's got that bit of guile needed to unlock defences and score a few goals too. Still think we need to add a forward and another defender but they've spent well so far and those may end up being loans.

Robert: The signing of Gustavo Hamer is the cherry on the cake!

Image source, Getty Images

"To be able to call this place my home is something I've been looking forward to," says Coventry City summer signing Carl Rushworth.

The 25-year-old first joined the club on a season-long loan in July 2025 and featured in every Championship fixture during their promotion-winning season. He picked up three awards at Coventry's end of season awards, before signing a permanent deal.

"There are too many emotions and feelings to put into words right now," Rushworth told City Unseen, external. "I'm back with the boys and back where I was last season. I'm excited for this new challenge and to play in the Premier League.

"I'm just ready for this next chapter. I needed to be a number one at my club, so to be able to call this 'my club' is a really proud feeling for me.

"As soon as I came here last season, I knew this was where I wanted to be. When I think back to the first time I walked into the stadium, I remember seeing the massive crowd and the support we had.

"Seeing all the lads again brings back all of those memories from last season. I found myself scrolling through and looking back over the videos multiple times during the off-season.

"I'm back in the work mindset now. We have a big challenge ahead but everyone is excited for it."

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

There is something quite poetic about Gustavo Hamer's return to Coventry City.

After signing from PEC Zwolle in 2020, it soon become clear that the midfielder was destined for the Premier League.

And it felt like he was going to take the Sky Blues with him after spearheading Coventry's challenge to the 2022-23 play-offs.

The Brazil-born Dutchman could not have done any more - scoring the decisive goal in the play-off semi final against Middlesbrough and then levelling in the final to take Luton Town to penalties.

Hamer was forced off 14 minutes after scoring at Wembley, and many still believe the end could have been different if he had not gone off injured.

He was the talisman. The man for the big moments. The player who could make supporters dream.

Hamer's departure to Sheffield United hit Coventry fans hard. Not because anyone begrudged him top-flight football, but because it wasn't going to be in a Coventry shirt.

But now it will be.

He re-signs under a new manager and a new-look Coventry City. A club that after years of heartbreak won the Championship in style under head coach Frank Lampard.

Hamer's task is no longer promotion, it's survival, and it is going to be tough.

Coventry are going to need moments of brilliance from their number 38, and there is every reason for supporters to believe that Hamer can bring that again.

Vanessa Pearce
West Midlands

Image source, Getty Images

Land on the site of Coventry City's former Highfield Road stadium is set to be renamed Highfield Road Park, in tribute to the club's historic home.

The Sky Blues played their final match at the stadium in 2005 after 106 years at the ground, with the stadium demolished the following year and redeveloped for housing.

Pete Witherow, of the Sky Blue Archive, said campaigners have spent the past two years working with the city council to secure the tribute in the centre of Signet Square.

A consultation was carried out with local residents and fans, he added.

• Hear more about the tribute on BBC Sounds

The renaming forms part of a wider effort to preserve the memory of Highfield Road.

Plans are also in place for Coventry's first dementia bench, which organisers hope will be installed next year, Witherow said.

The bench will feature a plaque and QR code linking visitors to the Coventry Dementia Hub and encourage people to reminisce and share memories.

In addition, four vision boards are planned for the site, displaying photographs showing the former stadium alongside images of the housing development that replaced it.

Read the full article here

Image source, Pete Witherow

Will Oelrich
BBC Radio CWR

Image source, Getty Images

Gus Hamer returning to Coventry City feels like one of those transfers that just makes perfect sense. Frank Lampard hasn't simply added quality; he's brought back a player adored by the Sky Blue Army and, crucially, someone with Premier League experience and the kind of know-how Coventry will desperately need this season.

As we debated on the Sky Blues Fancast Live this week, Hamer's role won't mirror his first spell. He's no longer expected to be the heartbeat of the side, but instead a high impact technician who can shape games in shorter bursts. Fifteen to twenty minutes of Gus Hamer chaos is still enough to change matches, and his set‑piece delivery remains a weapon Lampard will gladly lean on.

Jack Rudoni's continued recovery from his shoulder surgery means Hamer may well start the opening fixtures, offering Coventry early stability in midfield while Rudoni builds back to full fitness.

And with Hamer through the door, Coventry edge ever closer to that £100m summer spend. I expect they'll cross that line before the window shuts.

As fans, are you thrilled with the business? Tell us

Image source, Coventry City

Gustavo Hamer says he is looking to give back to Coventry City supporters after returning to the club on a long-term contract.

The Sky Blues have snapped the 29-year-old up from Sheffield United, having sold him to the Blades in 2023.

"I'm buzzing, it's the move I wanted to make," said Hamer, who scored 19 goals in 132 outings during his last spell with Coventry.

"To go to the Premier League with Coventry was something I always dreamt of so when the club came back in for me, it was very special so I'm very happy.

"The love I got from the fans was amazing so the only thing I can give back to them is goals, assists and a good performance so that's what I will try to do. Of course, you can't score or give an assist every game but what I can do is give 100 per cent for the badge, for the Club and for the fans."

Before playing in England, Hamer, a former Netherlands youth international, played for Feyenoord and PEC Zwolle in the Eredivisie.

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Chelsea are prepared to sanction a loan move for 25-year-old Ukraine winger Mykhailo Mudryk, with Coventry City one of three Premier League clubs interested. (Football London), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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