"Exceptional value" - Coventry City surprise issued at £3.5m Swansea City, Matt Grimes reveal | OneFootball

FLW's Coventry City fan pundit discussed the club's interest in Swansea City skipper Matt Grimes, who is valued at £3.5 million

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 have been urged to complete a deal for Swansea City captain Matt Grimes, with the asking price held by their Championship rivals revealed ahead of a seemingly-imminent agreement.

Frank Lampard is pushing to make the first addition of his Sky Blues career, having succeeded Mark Robins at the CBS Arena back in November. The former Derby and Everton head coach came close to securing a deal for Rangers winger Rabbi Matondo and is also expressing an interest in taking Tyrique George on loan from old side Chelsea.

However, it is Grimes who is seemingly closest to completing a move to the West Midlands, with Coventry poised to prize away the experienced midfielder.

Coventry City's transfer interest in Swansea City's Matt Grimes

Reports on Monday afternoon revealed two separate bids from Coventry for Grimes, who has been a stalwart at the Swansea.com Stadium for a number of years.

Coventry saw two offers knocked back but remain confident of striking an agreement, with Grimes himself believed to be keen on a move to the club.

But they have returned with a third bid, and a deal is now close to completion. On Tuesday morning, FLW broke the news that Swansea have set a £3.5 million asking price for Grimes, who is under contract in south Wales until 2027 after penning an extension earlier this season but is now highly unlikely to see out those terms.

Coventry's gain will very much be the Swans' loss, with Grimes having been an indispensible cog in the side ever since their relegation from the Premier League in 2018.

The 29-year-old has started every available match under Luke Williams this term, but has now seemingly made his final appearance for Swans, which came in Saturday's chastening 5-1 defeat to Norwich City, and could be on the opposing side when Coventry welcome the Jack Army this weekend.

It does, however, represent an undoubted statement of intent and a clear show of faith in Lampard from chairman Doug King, who is clearly keen to invest where he sees necessary in a bid to lead Coventry into play-off contention and beyond.

Coventry City verdict given on Swansea City's Matt Grimes as asking price revealed

FLW asked our resident Sky Blues fan pundit, Callum Hands, whether he believes a £3.5 million sum is good value for Grimes and if the Swansea stalwart would fit into Lampard's starting side amid competition from the likes of Ben Sheaf, Victor Torp, Jamie Allen and Josh Eccles.

In Callum's view, Swansea's asking price represents "exceptional value" for Coventry, who he believes could boast one of the division's finest midfield units with Grimes alongside Sheaf and advanced playmaker Jack Rudoni.

"Obviously Matt Grimes is someone who has been a mainstay at Swansea for a number of years now, and it's surprising how he hasn't gone onto better things given how many times he has been linked with a move away," Callum told FLW.

"£3.5 million is exceptional value, especially in a notoriously-inflated transfer window.

"It makes you wonder what's going on at Swansea that they're letting their captain go for so cheap at this stage of the season, but I'm glad it's looking like we're going to be the beneficiaries of that as it's a position we've been crying out to fill for a while now.

"Ben Sheaf has been out for a lot of the season and, even in his cameos, hasn't been at the level we've known him to be these last few years.

"Josh Eccles and Jamie Allen have both done a good job at filling the voids left by Sheaf and even Gus Hamer, especially Allen under Lampard in the last few games.