City put through their paces on Day 1 of Project Championship
COVENTRY City’s new midfielder Gustavo Hamer was a notable absentee from the Sky Blues’ return to training yesterday – but there’s no reason for fans to be worried.
The summer signing from PEC Zwolle was not involved as the players reported back for duty at Ryton where Mark Robins is putting his squad through their paces ahead of their voyage into the Championship.
While new defender Julien Dacosta was among the players involved, Hamer will officially link up with his team-mates tomorrow after flying into Birmingham Airport yesterday morning.
The highly-rated midfielder is set to move into a new house after his summer switch and he is busy tying up loose ends with his new property as he looks to settle in England following his move.
Sky Blues fans cannot wait to get a glimpse of the new man in action after hailing his arrival.
Coventry paid £1.5m to PEC Zwolle for his services.
He is the biggest signing made by Robins for the Sky Blues and was the club’s first £1m-plus player since Freddy Eastwood signed in 2008.
Speaking about his arrival, Robins said: “He’s a creative, twofooted midfielder with great technical ability. He’s also a tenacious and determined player in the centre of midfield.
“He’s a quality addition to our squad ahead of our return to the Championship, a player our recruitment team have been monitoring closely for some time.”
And Sky Blues midfielder Jordan Shipley reckons Hamer will have no problem fitting in when he begins training tomorrow.
“He’ll fit in well, all the new signings will,” Shipley told the Telegraph.
“All the players currently at the club get on really well, they’re all good lads and there isn’t one bad egg amongst us. “We all clicked on the first day of pre-season and any player that came along after joined up and fitted in without an issue.
He added: “I don’t think they’ll struggle to fit in at Coventry City, everyone is so welcoming. I haven’t spoken to him yet but I will see Hamer on Wednesday and we will have a chat then.
“We know he’s a good player, Julien
Dacosta too, and they’ll both add a lot to our squad and they’ll make this that little bit better for us. It’ll be good to meet him and find out what his strengths are then we can play off that next season.”
Although a date has yet to be confirmed for the new season, it is looking increasingly likely that the season will kick-off in September.
But whether fans will be allowed back through the turnstiles remains unclear.
Where Coventry will play their home games is also still to be determined in the coming weeks with the club hopeful they will be able to make a return to the Ricoh Arena.
All the players currently at the club get on really well, they’re all good lads and there isn’t one bad egg amongst us.
Jordan Shipley