It has been a long while since the Sky Blues have had a left-footed centre-back – not since the days of Jordan Turnbull and Cian Harries – which makes the arrival of Jake Clarke-Salter a particularly notable one. The former England under-21 international has shown signs throughout his career of developing into a very classy performer at centre-back – at towards the top-end of the Championship or lower-half of the Premier League standard – but arrives at Coventry City having had perhaps a few too many loan moves and is in need of finding a home where he can play regular football.
The excitement with signing Jake Clarke-Salter isn’t that just that he is that long-awaited left-footed centre-back the club have been without for a long time but that he represents an improvement on the team’s current options. Providing quality in possession and pace in central defence, Clarke-Salter is the kind of centre-back that the team doesn’t otherwise have. The only area of concern is that he can be a little aggressive at times in looking to win the ball, which risk leaving space behind him – especially concerning given the lack of pace in central defence other than Clarke-Salter himself.
The club have had to be patient in attempting to bring Jake Clarke-Salter in, but in doing so have been rewarded with someone who is both a high standard performer and solves quite a few of the team’s problems. While Jake Clarke-Salter may have to be a little patient initially in breaking into the team ahead of the established Kyle McFadzean, Dominic Hyam and Michael Rose, he is someone who should really benefit from the regular football that the club will be able to offer him. It appears to be a case of the right player, at the right club, at the right time.
Sideways Sammy 