Potential Brighton issue could hurt Coventry City's January hopes: View | OneFootball

With the January transfer window now just a few days away, many clubs will no doubt have their plans in place for the business they want to do over the coming month.

Of course, that will likely focus primarily on the business they do with regards to their own first-team squads, concerning both incomings and outgoings.

However, another issue clubs will have to address is the short-term future of their loan players, with decisions to be made over whether they are based at the best clubs to further their development in the second half of the campaign, amid potential interest from elsewhere.

Now for those in charge at Brighton, it seems that one player currently out on loan elsewhere they may have to make such a decision on, is Marc Leonard.

Northampton loan spell attracting interest in Leonard

Back in the summer transfer window, Leonard returned to Northampton Town for a second loan spell, having helped the Cobblers win promotion from League Two last season.

After previously making just two League Cup appearances for Brighton, the midfielder has now amassed a total of 74 appearances in all competitions for Northampton.

During that time, the 22-year-old has also scored two goals and provided two assists, now contributing to a campaign that sees the club sit 11th in the third-tier table.

As a result, it seems as though Leonard's form is now attracting attention from further up the football pyramid, in the days leading up to the January transfer window.

According to recent reports from The Daily Record (28th December, 11:36), Championship side Coventry City are now taking an interest in the midfielder, as the return of the market approaches.

However, there may be an argument that any hope the Sky Blues have of such a deal being completed, could be scuppered by another piece of business done between the two clubs this season.

Yasin Ayari struggling for form at Coventry

While Leonard may have rejoined Northampton during the summer window, that same period saw another Brighton player in the form of Yasin Ayari, head to Coventry.

The midfielder, who has previously made four senior appearances for the Seagulls since joining from AIK in his native Sweden back in January this year, has however, struggled since linking up with Mark Robins' side.

Following that move in August, has made only 13 appearances for the Sky Blues, with the 20-year-old starting just six of the club's 24 league games in the campaign so far.

Indeed, Ayari has been an unused substitute for Coventry in each of their last five outings. That is not the sort of game time and experience that the midfielder will have been looking to gain during his time at the CBS Arena, and as a result, it has been reported that talks are now being held at Brighton, with regards to Ayari's future.

Consequently, such a situation may not bode well for Coventry, if they are to make an attempt to secure a loan deal for another Brighton player in Leonard, come the January transfer window.

Given things have not worked out for Ayari during his time with the Sky Blues, it could make Brighton reluctant to send another player such as Leonard there, next month.

With the challenges that Ayari has faced at the CBS Arena, there may be a sense at Brighton, that there would be no guarantee that Leonard himself would be able to flourish and develop if he too was to link-up with Mark Robins' side.

That could therefore make it hard for Coventry to convince the Seagulls to allow Leonard to make the move there when the market opens.

Meanwhile, it is also worth noting that two other Championship sides, Cardiff and Swansea, have also been credited with an interest in Leonard recently.

As a result, if Brighton do decide that they want to send Leonard to the second-tier for the second half of the campaign, they will not have to take a gamble on a deal with the Sky Blues either.

So with all that in mind, it seems there is a possibility that a deal done between the two clubs just a few months ago, could prove costly for Coventry as they look to secure the services of another Brighton player in January.