Coventry City told to sanction transfer exit for forward
Coventry City told to sanction transfer exit for forward
Coventry City have been told to let young striker Justin Obikwu leave on loan this summer after impressing in the Sky Blues’ pre-season fixtures.
Because there won’t be much first-team involvement at the CBS Arena and because the 20-year-old striker spent the second half of the previous season on loan at League Two outfit Grimsby Town, Obikwu would do better playing on a regular basis somewhere else.
The Trinidad and Tobago international transferred from London’s Harefield United to the Sky Blues academy in 2021, but he hasn’t yet made his competitive debut for Mark Robins’ team.
After his strong preseason displays, Robins informed Coventry Live that “there’ll be takers” for Obikwu on loan this summer. It appears that the club is seriously exploring a season-long loan away from the CBS Arena.
Neil Littlewood, a Coventry City fan commentator on FLW, feels that Obikwu is a player who has the potential to make the first team at Coventry and that this summer would be a good time for him to go on loan.
“I think the one player we should loan out is Justin Obikwu, a big, fast, powerful, strong striker,” Neil stated in an interview with Football League World.
“I believe he’s the only academy player who could make it into the first team. He scored a few goals in the preseason and spent last season on loan at Grimsby. However, he needs a season of competitive first-team football, playing every week, traveling both home and away, playing in front of crowds, and all that kind of stuff.”
“I think moving to Grimsby was a great move for him last year. There were rumors that he was being looked at by Port Vale and Northampton this summer, with the intention of going out on loan. Both of those moves, in my opinion, were really smart ones; Port Vale, in particular, has assembled a strong roster and is hoping to make a run at League One.
“Darren Moore has a lot of experience as a manager, and they’re a big club with lots of support, so I think it would be beneficial for him to play there.
“Obikwu ought to be loaned out so that he can continue to grow and see if he can contend for the starting lineup in a few years.”time
Preseason play should obviously not be taken too seriously, but Obikwu has shown some impressive results, and a loan to a League One or League Two team would be advantageous for all sides.
Obikwu played senior football for the first time last season for Grimsby Town, and he did a respectable job for himself, starting ten games and scored three goals in 16 appearances.
You would have expected that with that experience under his belt, he would get even better in the upcoming season, and Robins feels that the player has made significant progress in the last 12 months.
Robins stated, “He’s done really well, but there’s clearly a long way to go for him,” in an interview with Coventry Live.
But he’s improved significantly from the previous year. He’s put in a lot of work, and his loan stint with Dave Artell up at Grimsby was productive. If we decide to let him go again, I’m sure someone will be interested in him.”
This shows that Obikwu could be a real asset to a club in the lower echelons of the EFL, and he should be looking at the 24/25 campaign as a chance to really make a name for himself in senior football.
With first-team opportunities at Coventry hard to come by, a loan away from the CBS Arena seems a suitable option for Obikwu this summer.
