Haji Wright, a forward for Coventry City, was the star of the show as his team defeated Watford 2-1 at Vicarage Road on Saturday. Wright scored goals both before and after halftime.
The American international, who cost a club record €9 million to transfer from Turkish club Antalyaspor to Coventry in the summer, has shown success thus far.
Following a sluggish start to the year, Mark Robins’ team is now just two points outside of the Championship play-off spots and will take on Wolves on Saturday in the FA Cup quarterfinal.
Come May, Wright might have a significant impact on the Sky Blues’ campaign, which has the potential to be very memorable.
Haji Wright is the verdict of a Coventry City supporter pundit.
The loss of key striker Viktor Gyokeres to Sporting Lisbon in the summer was painful, but the 25-year-old forward has shown to be a valuable asset to Mark Robins’ team.
Neil Littlewood, a Coventry City fan commentator for FLW, feels that Wright has been an excellent addition to the team and that the team should try their hardest to retain him in the summer.
“Haji is an oddball. Neil clarified, “He comes in and out of games; the Watford match was a prime example.
He didn’t seem engaged in the early part of the game. He made the incorrect plays with his first touch, but he later scored an incredible penalty.
That is what your strikers are paid to do, and in the second half, the ball finds him. terrific first touch, terrific finish, two goals, and we win 2-1.
He seems more successful, in my opinion, coming from the left than from the front with Ellis Simms. He’s shocked me with how well he’s adjusted to the league and has scored some crucial goals against some elite teams.
“He’s demonstrated his abilities, but at times I find him annoying to watch because, despite being a huge boy, he doesn’t appear to use his physicality very much, which is something I’d want to see him do more of.
He had large boots to fill, so he was always going to face challenges, but I think he’s incorporated himself well.
“A lot of Cov fans thought he was going to come in and be Gyokeres’ replacement, but he and Ellis Simms have really shouldered that burden and between the two of them they’ve replicated the goals that Gyokeres scored, so that’s shown we’ve done some good business with the pair of them.”
Wright is still in his prime at the age of 25, and Coventry will want to hang onto him for a little while longer given that they only signed him in the summer.
“As far as his ceiling goes, I believe he can play in the Premier League on his best day; he’s tall, quick, and a threat to take on a player,” Neil continued.
“I recall seeing him for the first time on the opening day of the season at Leicester away. He had a fantastic move down the left-hand side, beating two players, and the goalie made a fantastic stop to tip his shot over the bar. You thought this guy was kind of cool.
“He has international caps, has competed for the USA in the World Cup, and is making the proper progress to rejoin that team.”
Regarding any transfer interest this summer, Neil thinks the team should try all in their power to keep him, but they should be prepared to accept offers they can’t turn down.
“I would tell someone to get lost if they came calling in the summer. As much as you need to acquire players and resell them for a profit, like we did with Hamer and Gyokeres, I don’t think it’s appropriate to do that with Haji at this point in the five-year initiative,” Neil stated.
“A club like Coventry can’t afford to turn down a ridiculous offer of £15–£20 million for him, especially if that money could be used on three or four additional players to further enhance the squad.
“We’ve built a completely new squad that has scored more goals and conceded fewer goals than at this point last season, so if that’s the process we have to trust it, but I’d only let him go for silly money.” “We had £35 million for Hamer and Gyokeres.”
Haji Wright has made 39 appearances with the Sky Blues in all competitions, scoring 14 goals and dishing out seven assists.
With 13 goals and 6 assists in 35 league games, he has contributed 19 goals overall, which is a very respectable return.
Wright is a flexible player who has alternated between playing up front and on the left this season.
Wright has 13 goals with an xG of 15.76 and 6 assists with an expected assist rate of 1.33, according to Fotmob.
He has made 21 opportunities, a 40.6% dribble success rate, a passing accuracy of 70.5%, and 174 touches in the opposition’s box.
Wright had a tough bar to meet considering the club record sum spent for him, but he exceeded it handily.
He’s been a fantastic asset to Coventry, and the team will be hoping he stays at the CBS Arena for some time to come.
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