"Got to be looking at £2-3m" - Coventry City transfer claim issued as European duo circle | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Coventry City defender Joel Latibeaudiere is a wanted man heading into the summer.

That is according to a recent report from Mike McGrath and John Percy in The Telegraph, which claims two European sides are chasing his signature.

Sporting CP and Ajax linked with Coventry City's Joel Latibeaudiere

The sides in question are Portuguese outfit Sporting CP and Dutch giants Ajax.

Sporting - who raided the Sky Blues for Viktor Gyokers last summer - are said to be looking closely at the central defender, who has made 37 Championship appearances for Coventry City so far this season.

Ajax are also keen, however, with the Telegraph report claiming that they have cast eyes on the 24-year-old this campaign.

When asked about the transfer links recently, Coventry City boss Mark Robins was not keen to be drawn into a discussion, with the club still having plenty to play for on the pitch.

“I’m not expecting anything, so it will be a nice surprise or maybe an unwelcome surprise, or whatever. I honestly don’t know." Robins replied when quizzed on whether he was expecting interest in Latibeaudiere, via CoventryLive.

“I think we have got enough on our plates at the moment with the game against Leeds United this weekend. That will do us for the time being. We have to find some solutions to things and find some ability to cause them problems as well, which we have worked on.

“We will try to get to a position where we can have a good go at these because it’s a top team we’re facing tomorrow, there’s no doubt about it. But we’ll have a real good go.”

Coventry City fan pundit surprised by Joel Latibeaudiere transfer links

With the above in mind, we wanted to get a feel for how Coventry City supporters were feeling about the transfer rumour.

To give us an idea, we spoke to FLW's Coventry City fan pundit Neil Littlewood, who admitted he was surprised about seeing the 24-year-old linked with the aforementioned clubs.

Neil explained to FLW.

"Don't get me wrong, he's a great utility player - he's done a job for us in central midfield, centre-back, right-back. He's been an integral part of the squad, but never the first name on the team-sheet, though.

"But, one thing we were lacking this season was squad depth and he's given us that in three positions with just one signing, which, value for money and all that, but to see him go to Sporting or Ajax.

"If they come in for him, it's a great move for the lad and you can't begrudge him if that was a move he wanted to make.

"We got him on a free, so I think that any price tag is worth it.

"If a club like that is coming in, you've got to be looking at £2-3 million. I don't think you can charge more than that. It's not like he's the first name on the teamsheet.

"It's a solid profit if he goes as well and I'd wish him all the best. He's such a lovely bloke as well and seems to really get the Cov support, he's really engaged on social media.

"But it's the same as with Vik [Viktor Gyokeres] last year, if a club like that comes knocking, you can't turn them down.

"A good couple of million, I'll be sad to see him go, it will have been short and sweet, but I think it would be good business."

With Latibeaudiere contracted to Coventry City until the summer of 2027, it will certainly be interesting to see what the future holds for the defender this summer.