Coventry City is in public negotiations to sign new Gokeres contract.

Ipswich Town and Coventry City are nearing the end of their celebrations. Ed Sheeran brought out his guitar at a post-promo party and Frank Lampard mentioned the Jose Mourinho anecdote for the third time in the past hour.

Home time and a throbbing headache await, but more importantly, some important travel plans await.

Mr Sunderland will be the first to advise on how important recruitment is. The Black Cats’ success in the playoffs has given them the potential for a top-half finish.

Now Coventry are taking the same initiative.

Coventry open talks to sign £35m striker

The Sky Blues’ main objective is to avoid becoming the next Burnley. Leeds United and Sunderland have left a blueprint for them to follow and recent rumors suggest they are taking the first steps towards a treasure on the map.

Ross Barkley is one of the names that threatens to turn heads in this area. Aston Villa’s midfielder is certainly the right type.

He has experience at the top level and enjoyed a resurgent form in the 23/24 match against Luton Town. Fulham and Coventry are now reportedly in a battle over his signature.

But Barkley isn’t the only impressive name attracting attention from promoted teams. As reported by TEAMTalk, Coventry have begun negotiations to sign Reus Openda from Juventus this summer.

The forward has not found his best form in Turin and is likely to complete his immediate departure with his loan move becoming permanent in the coming months.

Juventus are owed £35m worth of the forward, but a desire to sell could leave the door ajar for clubs like Coventry to make a cut-price move.

Ipswich must battle Coventry over opener

Ipswich already appear to have a lot of catching up to do on the transfer front. However, Coventry’s vocal thoughts gave the Tractor Boys the opportunity to take the fight to the perfect time.

If Openda is available, Portman Road should be flocking to it this summer.

For Coventry, it’s a chance to bring in their best striker since the Swede Victor Gökeres, who scored 38 goals in the Championship between 2021/22 and 2022/23.

For Ipswich, this is an opportunity to sign a player with the caliber to survive next season.

Even if his time at Juventus hurt his stock, now is the perfect time to invest in two promoted clubs. There has never been a better opportunity to sign a player of this quality who is still able to rediscover the form he enjoyed at RB Leipzig.

Of course, the last time Ipswich were in the Premier League, they had Liam Delap to rely on. The forward scored 12 goals in his first Premier League campaign, which was enough to earn him a move to Chelsea.

A year on, the move still hasn’t worked out, but Ipswich remain without a player capable of reaching that level in the top flight.

By comparison, George Hurst, for example, has only scored 11 goals in the Championship this season and is unlikely to repeat that in the Premier League.

Signing Openda, who has proven his ability in the Bundesliga and also played well in the Champions League, would alleviate concerns about Kieran McKenna’s front line.

But that doesn’t mean Coventry doesn’t have a say. The Sky Blues have already begun contract negotiations with the forward and will be bringing in their most high-profile player since seeing Gokeres leave.

Openda may not be the same type of striker as the bigger and more powerful Gokeres, but he makes other players play at a higher level.

That is why he became Leipzig’s chief creator and at the same time a reliable goalscorer.

Combine this with a player of Haji Wright’s caliber and Coventry could form an attack worthy of staying in the Premier League from the start.