Conor Coventry is an example of everything wrong with West Ham United’s transfer business over recent years.
Now, that may sound a tad harsh on the 22-year-old midfielder.
In my opinion though, Coventry is nowhere near good enough to be playing regularly for West Ham in the Premier League.
David Moyes clearly thinks the same, and has allegedly told him to find a new club in January.
The Republic of Ireland under-21 international is out of contract at the London Stadium in the summer of 2023.
So now the Hammers will either have to sell him for a nominal fee in January or release him on a free transfer in the summer.
Everything we do in the transfer market when it comes to identifying talent and either keeping them or selling them just seems to be completely flawed…
Conor Coventry example of everything wrong with West Ham transfer business
The Hammers have had numerous exciting young talents come through the ranks in recent years, including the likes of Sonny Perkins, Aji Alese and Harrison Ashby.
Perkins and Alese have already left to join Leeds and Sunderland respectively, whilst Ashby is being heavily linked with a move to Newcastle United by The Mirror (30/11, p51).
Now, those three players should have all been tied down to long-term deals in my opinion. They all have the ability needed to become successful at the very highest level.
Meanwhile, Coventry isn’t anywhere near those levels in my opinion. So why wasn’t he moved on last year when we could have got a half decent fee for his signature?
It seems as though Moyes and/or the West Ham owners keep these young players for too long in the hope that they might come good.
And if they do come good, it’s right near the end of their contract and they seem to move on for a pittance of what they would have been worth previously.
It has been clear now for a while that Conor Coventry isn’t quite at the level needed to make an impact in the Premier League.
This should have been identified by Moyes, his staff and the owners and then subsequently acted on.
Conor Coventry is an example of everything that’s wrong with West Ham United’s transfer business.
We really do need to become more ruthless when it comes to handling young players coming through the ranks at the club, whether that means getting rid of them sooner or tying them down to long-terms deals quicker.
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