Sideways Sammy

Arriving at Coventry City this summer as the club’s record signing brought with it the expectation that Haji Wright would be the kind of player who would immediately elevate the team’s prospects this season. Just over 10 games in, the best that can be said about Wright is that he is still adapting to both the team’s style of play and Championship football in general. Two goals and an assist in 11 games isn’t a terrible return for a striker still finding their feet, but the level of fee that Haji Wright was signed for generated the expectation of a more immediate impact from the player.

It is at least clear to see why the club utilised so much of the money raised by Viktor Gyokeres’ sale on Haji Wright. A big striker who can be awkward for defenders with his pace and ability to carry the ball, Wright’s style has similarities to his predecessor in Sky Blue. However, Wright has only really looked dangerous from the bench against tired defences, struggling from the start in more even physical battles and lacking the control in tight areas to buy himself time and space on the ball. There have been moments where he’s linked up well with his strike partners, but equal amounts of questionable decision-making when team-mates have been in good areas. Additionally, Wright has lacked an element of conviction in his finishing, albeit, the team around him hasn’t been generating all that many chances for him.

While Viktor Gyokeres could have been described similarly to Haji Wright after his first ten appearances for Coventry City, the difference was that Gyokeres was a loan signing who arrived with almost zero expectations and Wright was the club’s record signing. Whether it’s fair on Wright or not that so much money was spent on him, he hasn’t played with the conviction or quality that would be expected of a circa £8 million striker in the Championship. That is not to say that Wright cannot come good after a slow start to life in England, but there is significant scope for improvement. For both the club and the player, Haji Wright could do with some big performances soon to demonstrate why such an investment was made in his services.