Sideways Sammy

The final addition of the summer transfer window, Liam Kitching joins to complete Coventry City’s defensive ranks for the new season. A left-footed, ball-playing defender, Kitching was, according to various reports, the club’s top centre-back target for much of the summer, which explains why it seems as if the Sky Blues have paid a premium to recruit him from a club that did not want to sell him. Whether Kitching is worth the reported fee – of somewhere above £4 million – remains to be seen, but the club have got their man and now it’s all about how he integrates into the team and begins to justify that investment in his services.

Where Liam Kitching fits in is likely be on the left of the back three, although he is also a potential candidate to play in the centre if Kyle McFadzean is either absent or loses form. In terms of playing style, Kitching is excellent on the ball both in terms of passing and carrying the ball out of defence with his feet. With Bobby Thomas, who played with Kitching at Barnsley last year, doing a similar job on the right side of the defence, the idea is that the Sky Blues will look to create overloads in possession by having their wide centre-backs step into midfield, which will help release the midfielders and wing-backs to get into dangerous areas. Where Kitching needs to improve is in the challenge, where he has a tendency to give fouls away and pick up bookings. As someone who struggled, albeit at a young age, the last time they played in the Championship, Kitching has a point to prove at this level, which is partly why the reported fee for his services seems particularly high.

Taking the fee out of it, bringing in a young and improving left-footed centre-back who starred in League One last season looks a smart move by the football club. The concern with Liam Kitching is that the fee is unlikely to ever be taken out of the equation when analysing his performances at Coventry City. For a player who is not the finished article and may need some time to adapt to Championship football, the worry is that Kitching may be written-off before he’s had a fair shot at proving himself with the Sky Blues. It will be up to both Mark Robins and Kitching himself to handle that pressure and demonstrate why the club were so keen to secure his services this summer.