Coventry City transfer news from CoventryLive as we examine the impact of the Sky Blues signing a new keeper on the two who battled it out for the gloves last season
Coventry City appear to have bagged themselves a new goalkeeper in rising Sweden international Oliver Dovin who is expected to be unveiled by the club soon, whether that be today, over the weekend or early next week. But what does that mean for the existing pair of Brad Collins and Ben Wilson?
The Sky Blues carried three keepers last season, with Simon Moore opting to see out his third and final year at the CBS Arena, albeit virtually redundant in terms of game time having not played a single game. In fact, the experienced stopper featured on the teamsheet on just two occasions as an unused substitute during the entire 2023/24 campaign, on standby to provide emergency back-up in the EFL Cup defeat at AFC Wimbledon and again in the third round FA Cup win over Oxford United.
That’s not to say that his time was entirely wasted, with the 34-year-old an outstanding professional on the training ground, pushing Collins and Wilson every day at Ryton. But Mark Robins surely won’t go with three seniors again this time around, particularly given that he has two talented development lads in Cian Tyler and Luke Bell on the books.
Tyler should be ahead of Bell in the pecking order but is currently recovering from a long-term injury. Fellow Academy graduate Bell, meanwhile, signed a new contract extension in June.
Although City are on a relatively sound financial footing these days, they are not exactly awash with cash and therefore paying the wages of three senior custodians doesn’t really make sense. There’s the added potential issue that whoever slips to third choice may well be frustrated and unhappy, which is never a good situation in any dressing room.
Injuries have been pretty rare for goalkeepers in recent years and if the worst came to the worst and Robins found himself struggling with more than one sidelined at the same time he could always go and get an emergency loan.
So the obvious conclusion is that with Dovin on his way in, something has to give. The question is, who makes way?
It’s clear that Wilson – the star of the 2022/23 play-off final season – was disappointed when he lost his place to last year’s summer signing Collins last term, and then limited in terms of his game time, playing just 18 Championship games and four in the FA Cup for the remainder of the campaign. And everything pointed to the bubbly 31-year-old with 12 months left on his contract moving on this summer.
Collins, meanwhile, was brought in from Barnsley last year, partly on the strength of Adi Viveash’s recommendation – the coach having worked with the 27-year-old during their time at Chelsea. But with Robins’ former assistant no longer at the club, one wonders if that changes the dynamic.
If City are looking for a fee, they’d arguably get more for Collins, the younger goalie of the two and with 24 months left on his contract rather than Wilson who will be a free agent next summer. In terms of quality, there’s not a great deal to choose between them and Robins has always maintained that in Wilson and Collins he has two first team keepers on an equal footing rather than a No.1 and understudy, albeit felt like Wilson slipped into that back-up role.
Dovin, meanwhile, is rated as the best keeper in the Swedish top flight where he has been Hammarby’s first choice for the last couple of years, so he’s clearly not coming to Coventry to be a number two. The No.1 shirt, vacated by Moore, is up for grabs and he’s fully expected to take it.
That’s not to say he won’t have to earn his place, and he may find himself in the same situation as Collins at the start of last season when Wilson opened the campaign as the man in possession of the gloves, and he had to bide his time and wait for his chance. There may be a bedding in period, time for adjustment to a new league and environment.
With all due respect to those who have played in the position, the club has been crying out for a standout goalkeeper ever since Keiren Westwood packed himself off to Sunderland some 13 years ago. And in Oliver Dovin, fans will be hoping City have found that man.
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