En brasse och en tysk
på trial i Coventry
ANDY Thorn has drafted in an experienced Brazilian striker to bolster Coventry City’s attack.
The big centre-forward was due at Ryton today along with an exciting attacking German midfielder who likes to play wide, joining the Sky Blues on trial with a view to signing permanent contracts at the Ricoh Arena.
The pair will be joined at training by talented young season-long loan signings – centre-back Reece Brown from Manchester United and striker Callum Ball from Derby County – who will provide both height and presence at either end of the pitch.
Another striker is also understood to be on City’s radar and close to joining the club.
The club’s tally of summer recruits stands at seven so far – a figure that could rise to ten if the two triallists impress and the transfer target comes off.
And with Cody McDonald, Gary Deegan and Nathan Cameron due to join back in with the squad after spending last week catching up on their pre-season fitness work at the Academy, Thorn’s squad is suddenly starting to take shape with plenty of strength in depth.
“We’ve got a couple of boys coming in on trial who we are really excited about,” revealed Thorn whose priority now lies with building a formidable attack.
“We’ll get them in and have a good look at them but we’ve done our homework and hopefully they will fit in with what we want.
“The two loan players will also be in, along with Cody and Deegs, which is great because all of a sudden we have got a few more options and lots of competition. We have got all the base fitness work done up in Scotland and we can start working on our shape now with four weeks to go to the new season.”
Reflecting on the club’s tour of the Highlands, Thorn said: “The trip has been a great success and I would come up again, no danger. We’ve been pushing people to their limits and we have come back knowing that the lads have got their base fitness under their belt.”
City suffered their second defeat of the friendly campaign, losing 3-1 to Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday following a narrow 1-0 defeat to fellow SPL side Ross County last Wednesday.
But Thorn said: “It was a good work out – just what we wanted. That was three games in five days and as I said before with Ross County, they are miles ahead of us fitness-wise, so it was a really good exercise for us and it wasn’t until we tired late on that you could see their fitness advantage took its toll.
“We started really well, missed loads of chances and missed a penalty as well, but overall it has been a really good week for us.
“I was talking to Terry Butcher before the game and he was saying how fit his team are, so it was always going to be a tough test for us.
“We’re four weeks away from our season so there’s plenty of time to get more work done. It’s been all about the core fitness up to now, which I know we have got.
“We haven’t really got any injuries from the game. Shaun Jeffers has had a small strain all week and we took him off in the second half just to be careful with him really, but I wanted everyone to get 90 minutes again and get the game time under their belts.
“I could have made changes at the end but that wasn’t the object of the exercise. We looked really tired then but we came through with no injuries.
“We can freshen up now and start to work on our team shape a bit more.”
