FLW’s verdict on Ipswich Town’s potential pursuit of a Coventry City star this summer
Ipswich Town have been linked with a move to sign Coventry City midfielder Ben Sheaf this summer.
According to The Sun, the Tractor Boys are interested in signing the 26-year-old ahead of their return to the Premier League.
The Suffolk outfit earned promotion to the top flight with a second place finish, and will now compete in the top flight of English football for the first time since 2002.
Ben Sheaf’s importance to Coventry City
| Ben Sheaf’s passing stats 2023/24 – per Fbref.com | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stat | Per 90 | ||
| Passes Attempted | 64.98 | ||
| Pass Completion (%) | 83.90 | ||
| Progressive Passes | 8.34 | ||
| Progressive Carries | 2.19 | ||
| Successful Take-ons | 1.22 | ||
| Touches in the Opposition Area | 1.15 | ||
| Progressive Passes Received | 2.19 | ||
Sheaf has been a key figure for the Sky Blues since initially joining on loan from Arsenal in the summer of 2020, before the deal was made a permanent one a year later.
The midfielder has made 131 appearances in the Championship for Mark Robins’ side, helping them come 16th, 12th, fifth and ninth in the table during that time, and Sheaf also played a key role in Coventry reaching this year’s FA Cup semi-final.
Ben Sheaf could be a long-term upgrade on Sam Morsy for Ipswich Town
We asked some of our FLW writers their verdict on whether Ipswich should push for a move to sign Sheaf, and at what cost it could take to convince the Sky Blues to sell…
Declan Harte
Sheaf’s arrival at Ipswich would likely see one of Sam Morsy or Massimo Luongo fall out of the team.
The 32-year-old in particular would be in danger of losing his place in the team, despite being a regular presence in the side through both of their promotion campaigns in the last two years.
While Morsy played well in the Championship, midfield is an area McKenna should look to strengthen this summer due to a lack of strong depth.
Sheaf could cost between £10 million and 15 million, which is the kind of fee Ipswich will need to spend to upgrade parts of their team now that they’re in the Premier League.
But that money could be worth it, as Sheaf has been excellent for Coventry and has shown that he can compete in the top flight through the Sky Blues’ FA Cup run.
He held his own against Wolves and Manchester United, and was excellent during the team’s pursuit of a play-off place in the league this year.
Sheaf is great on the ball, and would be very suited to McKenna’s attacking style of play, making him a strong addition to the side for life in the Premier League.
Ben Wignall
For the last two seasons now, Sheaf has been one of those players that goes under the radar a lot for the dirty work he does in midfield, allowing the likes of Callum O’Hare and before him, Gustavo Hamer and Viktor Gyokeres, to do their thing further up the pitch.
Sheaf doesn’t go under that same radar anymore though, with his performances catching the eye of multiple clubs in the top flight – newly-promoted Ipswich being one of them.
You can see the appeal for Kieran McKenna – both of his regular first-choice midfielders from last season are the wrong side of 30 and Jack Taylor, whilst he is a talent, didn’t start enough this past season to be considered as a starter for 2024-25 just now.
Sheaf wouldn’t be cheap of course, with Mark Robins stating it would take record bids to prize away his star players this summer – that would suggest that if the Tractor Boys want the midfield maestro, they will have to pay in excess of £17 million.
Irrespective of the price though, I could see Sheaf slotting in next to Sam Morsy in the engine room very comfortably, and as far as the long-term goes, he could be a perfect long-term Morsy replacement for around the £15 million mark if they can sort a deal out for that price.
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