{"id":959054,"date":"2026-05-14T10:20:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T10:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/959054\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T10:20:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T10:20:21","slug":"coventry-city-dealt-big-transfer-blow-by-leeds-united-over-33-cap-international-striker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/959054\/","title":{"rendered":"Coventry City dealt big transfer blow by Leeds United over 33-cap international striker"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coventry City will be looking to make a splash in the transfer market ahead of their first Premier League campaign since the 2000\/01 season, but one of their targets may have their eyes set on one of their new top-flight rivals.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As exhibited over the past season, with how Leeds United and Sunderland went about their business in the summer window, having that top-flight experience can be key for Championship sides to survive in their first year back in the Premier League.<\/p>\n

Coventry<\/a> haven’t just been linked with veteran players from fellow top-five European leagues, however, as they emerged as a potential destination for Belgian frontman <\/a>Lo\u00efs Openda to revitalise his career.<\/p>\n

In 2023\/24, the 26-year-old finished third in the Golden Boot race in the Bundesliga, but he’s had a few disappointing campaigns in the last two seasons, especially this year, as his reported \u20ac40 million move to Italian giants Juventus<\/a> has resulted in just two goals in 34 appearances in all competitions.<\/p>\n

Less than a year on from arriving at the Allianz Stadium, he’s set to be on the move once more, but it seems like Coventry<\/a> are losing the race to bring him in.<\/p>\n

Leeds United emerge as front-runners for Lo\u00efs Openda deal this summer<\/p>\n

\"Lois<\/p>\n

According to TEAMtalk<\/a>, Leeds are looking to make a splash this summer by signing Openda, as they look to build on a successful first season back in the top flight.<\/p>\n

The report states that the Belgian is open to the move, as the Whites are prepared to offer him a “significant” salary to tempt him over to Elland Road.<\/p>\n

This could all change once more, but, unfortunately, it would push Coventry<\/a> even further down the pecking order, as if a side with European football next season approaches him, he’d more likely accept that offer.<\/p>\n

Bournemouth has been mooted as another potential destination, especially with former RB Leipzig boss Marco Rose set to take the reins next season at the Vitality Stadium. A return to former club Lens could be on the cards, too, but it’s said that Openda is focused on a Premier League switch.<\/p>\n

Either way, it represents bad news for the Sky Blues, who had made initial contact with Openda and Juventus for a potential loan-to-buy deal.<\/p>\n

Whether it be Leeds or elsewhere, it looks like Coventry<\/a> may be missing out on bringing in the Belgian marksman.<\/p>\n

Coventry City will hope to have dodged a bullet if Lois Openda signs for Leeds United<\/p>\n

\"Frank<\/p>\n

Ultimately, whoever lands Openda this summer will be taking a bit of a risk, hoping that the 26-year-old can return to his free-scoring ways that he showed in his final years at Lens and his first campaign at RB Leipzig.<\/p>\n

Do you think that Lo\u00efs Openda can return to form in the Premier League? Let us know in the comments.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If he does, then he could be the difference maker for a team like Leeds, who will still be expected to just fight against relegation next season, with the hopes of establishing themselves more as a mid-table side in the near future.<\/p>\n

If he doesn’t, and his form continues from his last two seasons, where he’s scored just 15 goals in 82 outings across campaigns in Germany and Italy, then he would represent a massive waste of money, which Coventry<\/a> really can’t afford in their quest to stay up.<\/p>\n

This transfer window has to be near-perfect for the Sky Blues, and perhaps bringing in a few different stars who they know will do a job for them for the same combined amount may be the better option for Frank Lampard this summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Coventry City will be looking to make a splash in the transfer market ahead of their first Premier…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":959055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8814],"tags":[748,393,4884,1860,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-959054","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leeds","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-leeds","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116572431682578524","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=959054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/959055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=959054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=959054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=959054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}