The 4 Coventry City players who are leaving on a free next summer

Some important Sky Blues players are set to depart at the end of the 2023-24 season

Coventry City’s overhaul during the summer transfer window has been pretty noteworthy, with the sales of Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer giving manager Mark Robins the funds to boost his squad.

Gyokeres became the Sky Blues’ club record sale in July when Sporting Clube de Portugal paid the best part of £20 million to sign the Swede, and a month later that was followed by the departure of Hamer to Sheffield United for £15 million.

Both Gyokeres and Hamer had contracts running out in the summer of 2024, meaning that Cov had to either convince them to extend their stays at the CBS Arena or cash in – and they did the latter.

But what about the players whose current deals ARE expiring come the end of June next year? Let’s take at the four members of Robins’ squad that will be exiting if they do not renew their deals.

1Callum O’Hare

If he was under contract for a while still, then O’Hare would probably be Coventry’s most valuable asset right now – especially if he hadn’t had injury troubles in the last 12 months and longer.

A product of the Aston Villa academy, O’Hare joined the Sky Blues on loan in 2019 and was a big part of their promotion-winning side in the 2019-20 season, contributing to six goals before the campaign was curtailed due to COVID-19 and the Sky Blues went up via PPG (points per game).

O’Hare has been a creative star at Championship level for Coventry, and that caught the eye of Burnley last summer, with Vincent Kompany making a big play to try and sign the diminutive midfielder.

A serious hamstring injury though that put him on the sidelines before the 2022-23 season started put paid to any potential sale, and when he did return to action in October 2022, O’Hare only lasted 11 matches before suffering a cruel knee injury before the year was out.

That ended O’Hare’s season and he hasn’t been seen since, and there is no way of knowing how he will be when he does eventually make his return to competitive action, which is expected to be in the very near future.

And it is that unknown that could be the reason as to why O’Hare hasn’t signed a new contract yet as there may be nothing on the table until he proves his fitness.

It would be an awful shame if the 25-year-old didn’t return the same player, but there has to be confidence that he has retained his ability.

2Liam Kelly

Having been around since Coventry’s League Two days, Kelly is the longest-serving member of Mark Robins’ squad and he is continuing to play his part at the age of 33.

The veteran midfielder’s appearances have dwindled in the last few years, with several injuries keeping Kelly out of contention over the seasons, but he has been starting regularly in the engine room in 2023-24.

If Kelly can prove he has something left to offer at the end of the season, then it’d be a surprise if he doesn’t get another year’s deal.

3Kyle McFadzean

Another veteran of the Sky Blues squad, McFadzean has seemingly gotten better with age and has been at the heart of Robins’ defence for many seasons since his 2019 arrival.

When fit, the 36-year-old has been an ever-present at the back, but you have to wonder how many years the no-nonsense defender has left at second tier level.

There could be one more year left for McFadzean, but Coventy have brought in younger centre-backs over the summer and there’s a chance he could be phased out over time with less appearances to come.

4Simon Moore

Signed as competition in 2021 to Ben Wilson, Moore was first-choice stopper in his debut year, but having been usurped by Wilson in the early stages of 2022-23, the 33-year-old is now third-choice after Brad Collins’ arrival.

There is zero sign of Moore playing a meaningful match for the Sky Blues again, so there’s little chance of him signing a new deal unless he’s happy being third in command.