HIGHLIGHTS
- Coventry City’s lack of success can be attributed to the departure of their two best attacking players, Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer, who were instrumental in their playoff run last season.
- Callum O’Hare’s return from a devastating cruciate ligament injury has been limited to cameo appearances off the bench, raising questions about his ability to regain his previous form.
- Coventry should consider parting ways with O’Hare, as his contract expires in the summer and there is a risk of losing him for free if he remains with the club past the January window. However, there is no guarantee that he will replicate his previous form elsewhere.
Coventry City have not been able to find the form that got them so close to reaching the Premier League last season.
This lack of success can certainly be attributed to them losing their two best attacking players in the summer. Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer, who combined beautifully at Wembley, in May, to get Coventry level with Luton Town in the playoff final, both departed the Coventry Building Society Arena.
The Swedish striker went to Sporting Lisbon in a deal worth up to £20 million, according to the BBC. This easily surpassed their previous biggest sale of all time, taking Robbie Keane’s £13 million move to Inter Milan off the top spot. About a month later, in mid-August, Hamer beat Keane’s record again by joining newly promoted Premier League side Sheffield United for £15 million, as per The Athletic.
So two of the 2022/23 season’s best players were out the door, but City fans did have the return of another attack-minded player to look forward to in Callum O’Hare, who’d been so successful for the club before picking up a devastating cruciate ligament injury on Boxing Day of last year, against Hamer’s new club.
He eventually made his return to first team action, coming off the bench with 15 minutes left against Rotherham United. He’s been out of action for almost exactly 10 months, and it will take time for him to get fully up to speed. But a serious injury like that is always a concern for player and club, and both will be considering their options.
Callum O’Hare’s return to the Coventry squad
So far, the attacking midfielder has only made cameo appearances from the bench since his comeback. He’s averaging a relatively brief 22 minutes per game, but that’s somewhat to be expected given the severity of the injury he suffered.
He’s missed one big chance in the four games he’s been involved in, as per Sofascore, and he hasn’t been able to create much for others either. It is an early call to make, but you have to wonder whether he’ll ever be able to re-reach the heights he did in the 21/22 season.
Coventry should consider parting ways with Callum O’Hare
The 25-year-old’s contract with the club expires in the summer. There’s a risk that if he is still with the club come the end of the January window that he could leave for free.
Given how long he’s been out, Coventry have had to find ways to cope without him. Even though this year’s performances haven’t been brilliant, the likes of Tatsuhiro Sakamoto have plugged that gap in the squad.
Of course, there will be a lot of sentimentality in the fan base; he has been a brilliant player for them, when fit. But a potential exit, whether they get compensated for it or not, shouldn’t be compared to the losses of Gyokeres and Hamer.
An obvious concern with losing O’Hare is that he goes and replicates the form of a few seasons ago somewhere else. He’s not a player who relies on freakish athleticism, so there is a chance that, when he gets back to full fitness, he can roll back the years- which sounds odd because he’s only in his mid-20s.
But there’s no guarantee about that, whereas the two big summer departures came with the certainty that two of the best players at Coventry, and arguably in the league, were gone; the same can’t be said for O’Hare.
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