Ike could be strike force for Sky Blues
REPORTED Coventry City target Ike Ugbo has been named on Chelsea’s retained list with Frank Lampard said to be keen to find him a loan club for next season.
The Stamford Bridge striker, who will have played under Sky Blues assistant Adi Viveash during his time in West London, has been linked with both the Coventry and Queens Park Rangers by national media reports.
The youngster, who turned 22 in September, has already had loan spells with Barnsley, MK Dons and Scunthorpe United.
Last season the striker scored 13 goals in 28 league outings for Dutch side NAC Breda on loan, where he is reported to have caught the eye of Coventry head of recruitment, and Norwich City’s former head of European scouting, Chris Badlan.
Despite being on Chelsea’s books since the age of ten, Ugbo is yet to make a senior appearance for their first team but, thanks to his impressive goal return last term he will stay with the club.
It is likely that Lampard will try to find Ugbo a Championship club for next season after youngster Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James were all able to kick-start their Stamford Bridge careers after second division loans.
The Sky Blues are likely to be in the market for a striker this summer and could look to sign multiple back-ups to last season’s top-scorer Matty Godden.
Meanwhile, Gustavo Hamer was expected to depart Holland for England this week as Coventry City move one step closer to completing his €1.5m arrival.
The Dutch-brazilian midfielder is being billed as a direct replacement for young player of the season Liam Walsh who has now returned to Bristol City.
The Telegraph understands that the deal has been agreed between the two clubs and that personal terms are on the bring of completion with only a medical standing in the way of a deal that has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Sky Blues are keen to ensure Hamer sits a medical before putting pen to paper on his move, a medical that was been pushed back numerous times due to the government’s strict international travel rules amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Hamer will have to undergo a 14-day isolation period before he can meet with City’s medical staff, but the club will be hopeful that a negative test will allow them to get the deal done as soon as possible.
A week ago, Hamer was a notable absentee at PEC Zwolle’s first training session of their new season and he is understood to have earlier this month said goodbye to his teammates as he celebrated his 23rd birthday.
Sources close to his club understand that he will embark on his journey to the West Midlands with his medical set to follow at the earliest opportunity.
Hamer could become City’s first summer acquisition should his move be wrapped up in the coming days.
The club also remain keen on landing Aston Villa youngster Callum O’hare who will depart Coventry’s Premier League rivals on June 30, but talk of his current situation has fallen silent from all sides in recent dats..
French full-back Julien Dacosta is also understood to be a genuine target but defender Samuel Yohou, set to be released by Paris FC, is no longer on the club’s radar.