Coventry City could face a battle on their hands to keep hold of Gustavo Hamer in the summer, but there could be an ideal replacement in the free market.
The Dutchman has thoroughly impress in what’s been an equally impressive season for the Sky Blues.
Hamer has been linked with both Celtic and Rangers ahead of the summer transfer window and CoventryLive reporter Andy Turner has suggested that Hamer could leave if the price is right.
Mark Robins then could be left with a void in his midfield as he prepares for the 2022/22 season. But Josh Laurent could become an ideal replacement for the Dutchman should he move on.
High-praise…
Laurent sees his Reading contract expire in the summer. The Englishman has once again been a standout player in a struggling Reading side having featured 33 times in the Championship this season, scoring once and assisting twice.
Like Hamer, Laurent is a midfielder who possess both physical and technical abilities – Laurent is a workhorse in the middle of the park and earlier in the season, former Royals boss Veljko Paunovic was full of praise for the 26-year-old, saying:
“I’m absolutely impressed with his performances. After the first break in the first part of the season he also tried to get into his best possible form.
“With him being able to use these roles it’s a great example for him and team-mates when we need to rotate with injuries.
“Players with his mentality help us. I’m impressed by how quickly he can learn new positions, adapt and put up amazing performances where the team benefits with wins.”
Coventry City will no doubt be operating on a shoestring budget once again this summer. But Robins and his recruitment team did well in the last summer window and so fans will be hoping that they can pull off some more shrewd transfer deals in pre-season.
And the signing of Laurent would certainly be another shrewd one – he’s a combative Championship midfielder who has qualities going both forward and backwards, and on a free transfer, he could yet become the ideal replacement for the probably-departing Hamer.
