Coventry City have been football’s nearly men in recent times, missing out on a promotion to the Premier League and a FA Cup Final appearance with heartbreaking penalty shootout defeats to Luton Town and Manchester United respectively.
Expectations are high for another successful season for the Sky Blues, and Haji Wright has already reminded boss Mark Robins of his importance to his side.
American international Wright, capped 11 times for his country, scored twice in City’s recent 3-2 win over Oxford United, including a last-gasp winner, and looked a major threat throughout, using his pace, power and aerial strength to make the difference in a well-fought contest.
It was a performance of real quality, one that his manager and his teammates will hope to see repeated with regularity, as Wright has become the focal point and go-to figure for his side in difficult or pivotal moments during fast-paced, hectic second-tier matches.
Now 26-years-old, Wright’s languid, yet effective style has seen him grow as a player from his early days in the States, through spells in German, Dutch, Danish and Turkish football prior to his 2023 arrival in the Midlands.
The Los Angeles-born attacker immediately looked at ease in the English game, quickly marking himself out as one of the more feared forwards outside the Premier League, and his latest display reaffirmed his place as Coventry’s main threat.
Wright scores all kinds of goals
Wright is comfortable and capable of leading the line himself, but with Robins also having 23-year-old striker Ellis Simms at his disposal, the American has found himself operating in the wide forward role, coming in from the left-hand side, and this position suits him perfectly.
A good ball-carrier, Wright loves to use his tricky technical qualities in combination with genuine pace to drive at opponents, while his natural movement inside leaves full-backs wondering how best to cope with multiple threats posed by the big attacker.
| Haji Wright’s Coventry career to date, as per Transfermarkt | |
| Games | 53 |
| Goals | 21 |
| Assists | 8 |
| YC’s | 3 |
| RC’S | 0 |
| Total Minutes Played | 4,538′ |
His big frame and strength in the air is well suited to overpowering defenders from the perfectly delivered deliveries of right-back Milan Van Ewijk, as witnessed in Coventry’s opener last Friday as Wright and his colleagues bounced back from a disappointing 1-0 opening day loss at Stoke City.
The forward is happy to play on the right side too, cutting in dangerously on his left-foot to provide a wide range of difficulties that keep opponents guessing. Wright, at Championship level at least, is the complete forward, having scored 21 times in 53 Coventry appearances.
Wright’s form this season, and his ability to affect games so impressively in many different ways, will be absolutely key to the fortunes of Robins’ men this season, and his injury-time winner, where he calmly rounded the goalkeeper to score, is a mark of the pedigree he possesses.
O’Hare departure leaves big shoes to fill
Attacking midfielder Callum O’Hare moved on from Coventry this season, joining Championship rivals Sheffield United; and while the 26-year-old has had his fair share of injury troubles in recent times, he was undoubtedly Robins’ creative talisman.
Without the effervescent craft of O’Hare, more attacking responsibility will fall on the shoulders of Wright, Simms, Tatuhiro Sakamoto and new signings Ephon Mason-Clark and Brandon Thomas-Asante to provide the cutting edge.
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