Coventry City target £2m an excellent player replacement as Mark Robins reveals Doug King meeting

Coventry City want to sign Barnsley’s Callum Styles, it is claimed.

Sky Blues boss Mark Robins wants more signings before the transfer window closes and The Sun’s Alan Nixon says 23-year-old midfielder Styles is on his list of targets.

It is said he would cost £2m and that Championship rivals Bristol City are also interested.

Robins has lost star midfielder Gustavo Hamer this summer, after he was sold to Premier League Sheffield United.

And speaking after Saturday’s win over Middlesbrough, Robins said the club planned to reinvest the money from the sale back into their squad.

He said: “When you lose a big player, it’s the character and the energy that he has around the place that you miss. Everybody loved him.

“Generally, you are at the mercy of predators who come in and take your players, but by putting the money back in to recruit better players, or good players who can then grow with you, you can then improve. Obviously Viktor (Gyokeres) and Gus are one offs, but you try and do it.

“That’s why (ideally) you want that done early in pre-season to try and get yourselves going quicker because you want to hit the ground running. Sometimes it’s not possible.”

Robins revealed that a transfer meeting took place on Friday when the reinvestment of the Hamer fee was discussed, plus his aims for the rest of the summer window that closes on September 1.

He said: “I’m looking at three or four more, and I think (club owner) Doug King will kill me for saying it. We had a meeting yesterday and spoke about it, so we’ve got a broad agreement and a broad understanding of what we need to do to move it forward again, and hopefully we can fulfil that in the next few days.”