SECOND COMING
ROBINS READY TO BAG ANOTHER LOAN STAR ‘WITH GREAT POTENTIAL’ AFTER BRIGHT CAPTURE
MARK Robins has revealed he has agreed terms with another club to bring in a second player on loan this month.
The Sky Blues boss has already drafted in exciting forward Bright Enobakhare from Wolves but plans to add another to boost his side’s attack and help push for the playoffs.
“There will definitely be one more player coming in before the end of this month,” said the manager. “It will be a player who has got great potential and good ability. We have permission to do it but it’s going to take a little bit of time before that one comes through for the reason that the club is in a position to do it later on, rather than now.”
Robins clearly needs to free up funds in terms of wages in order to bring the player in, with a number of existing fringe players expected to go out on loan and some even leaving the club completely.
“Really we have got a big number and there are some that will have to leave, so we are looking at loans and people maybe going out on a permanent basis,” he said.
As for what fans can expect from Enobakhare, who has trained with the squad for the first time this week, Robins is convinced he has a versatile forward who will add strength to City’s forward line. Asked if he’s similar in style to Duckens Nazon, who enjoyed a productive spell on loan from Wolves in the first half of last season, the manager said: “Umm, similar-ish, yes.
“He’s powerful, he’s talented and he’s young. He’s played in the Championship and he’s done pretty well.
“He’s been out on loan to Kilmarnock in the first half of the season and I imagine it didn’t go as well for him as he had hoped or anticipated, but he’s a talent and I want to try to help him get the best out of himself to help us throughout the rest of the season. And if he does that then we have got some player on our hands because he’s a real talent and, potentially, a Premier League player.”
Limited to just six appearances north of the border, Robins will assess the 20-year-old to see if he’s fit enough to go straight in against Wimbledon today or be on the bench. “He’s trained twice and he looks like an athlete, so I will have a look at him and make a final decision,” he said. “He’s a talented player and we brought him in for a reason so we want to get him involved as quick as we possibly can do – whether it’s from the start or not, we will have to wait and see. He played 80 minutes last week and he has trained for the last two weeks because he had an injury prior to that, so we are mindful of that.
“We have spoken to Wolves and they are absolutely clear on his fitness, and the conversations I’ve had are good ones. The boy himself is chomping at the bit and he wants to play.”
Robins has admitted that he has looked at Aston Villa and Everton’s promising young stars Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Antony Evans – but didn’t expect any City moves for the pair, even before for HepburnMurphy’s loan move to League Two side Cambridge United.
“They will be in the scouting database and there are reports on them,” said the manager, “but I don’t think we will be doing anything with either of those at this stage. They are very talented boys, both of them. But we have a squad that is a certain size that needs thinning out.”