“The one that got away”—Coventry City, Alan Browne’s missed transfer following Sunderland
Mark Robins may be wishing he hadn’t passed up on one of his transfer targets during the summer transfer window after Coventry City’s lacklustre start to the 2024–25 Championship season.
Many Coventry City supporters were hopeful at the beginning of the season that the Sky Blues would make a run for promotion to the Premier League in the 2024–2025 season.
The team managed by Mark Robins has not had the best start to the season; their triumph over Oxford United was overshadowed by losses to Stoke City and Norwich City, and their trip to Bristol City resulted in a stalemate.
Robins won’t be overreacting because Coventry had a poor start to the 2022–23 season and made it all the way to the Championship play-off final. However, before the season even began off, he would have expected a stronger start.
The 54-year-old may be kicking himself for not being able to seal a deal for the midfielder Coventry was linked to during the summer, as that player would have most likely boosted the Sky Blues’ starting lineup at a position where they could use more help.
Fan pundit shares thoughts on Alan Browne’s link to Coventry City
After departing Preston North End in the summer, Republic of Ireland international Alan Browne attracted interest from a few Championship teams; Coventry, Sunderland, and Sheffield United were reportedly keen to sign the 29-year-old.
| Alan Browne’s Championship stats (Transfermarkt) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 349 | 40 | 22 |
The midfielder ultimately signed with the Mackems, but Neil Littlewood, a Football League World fan analyst from in Coventry, feels that the Sky Blues ought to have signed him.
Littlewood remarked, “I believe we missed out on signing a player.”
“At the beginning of the window, there was a lot of buzz that we were going to recruit Alan Browne from Preston. Well, he went on to Sunderland and had a great debut there.
Our results and roster show that our midfield is lacking in depth and leadership. The majority of our lineup also consists of Alan Browne, who captained Preston for almost a century in this level.
“As Sheaf is injured right now, he is the precise player we need—someone who is well-versed in the division and a talented player. In my opinion, he is the ideal counterbalance to Sheaf, even when he is fit.
“To put it in better terms, he is the one who got away.
“I look at our squad and I think midfield is the one, it is the area that we lack in.”
Alan Browne has started well at Sunderland
Browne has had a great debut on Wearside following his decision to sign with Sunderland despite Coventry’s interest.
In their triumph over Portsmouth at Fratton Park, he scored his first goal for his new team. Having won their first four league games this year, he has assisted his team in rising to the top of the Championship table.
Though it could have been simpler if Coventry had been able to get a deal for Browne across the line, they still have plenty of time to create a promotion push for themselves during the course of the campaign.
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