Sideways Sammy

Following a campaign where Coventry City’s first-choice goalkeeper kept 20 clean sheets, the addition of a new player to that department might look like a curious move. However, it should be clear that former Chelsea youngster Bradley Collins is arriving at the Sky Blues as a genuine contender to claim Ben Wilson’s place in goal, although it will be Wilson’s place to lose initially. Collins has roughly the same level of experience in Championship football as Wilson but is four years younger and has more experience of being the first choice in Leagues One and Two than his competitor for a starting place. A genuine battle for the number one goalkeeping jersey can only be a good thing for the team, after years of there being a clear and stark pecking order between the sticks at the CBS Arena.

There is an argument that Bradley Collins may be better suited for the style of play that Mark Robins wants to implement at Coventry City than Ben Wilson. Collins’ best spell at Championship level came in the 2020/21 season under the management of Valerien Ismael at Barnsley, where the team played an incredibly high line and Collins excelled in coming off his line to sweep up behind the defence before distributing the ball long under pressure. A solid shot-stopper too, that ability of Collins to cover for a high defensive line could be really useful for Coventry City this season if the plan is to move from last year’s deep-lying, counter-attacking approach to something more proactive. That specific quality of Collins is also a key area of weakness in Ben Wilson’s game, adding further intrigue to the goalkeeping battle that is set to commence.

It would be an incredibly bold call by Mark Robins to replace Ben Wilson with Bradley Collins in goal straight out of the gate, as Wilson has more than earned the right to continue as the number one based on his exploits last season. However, this is a move that clearly puts pressure on Wilson to further develop his game if he wants to keep his place in the side. Collins is someone who has shown that he can be a more than solid option in goal at the Championship level and has some specific skills that Ben Wilson is yet to demonstrate. While a new goalkeeper wasn’t necessarily a priority this summer, it can’t hurt to add more competition to what is a key position in the side.