Coventry City boss Tony Mowbray has revealed his intentions to sign Newcastle United loanee Gael Bigirimana permanently in January.
The 22-year-old rejoined the Sky Blues on loan back in November and has impressed Mowbray with his effort in training and performance levels.
However, Mowbray currently faces a dilemma each matchday where one of his six loanees much be dropped, as Football League rules do not allow you to name any more than five loan players in a matchday squad. As Newcastle’s Adam Armstrong and Liverpool’s Ryan Kent certainly will not be available to sign permanently, Coventry will be looking to wrap up deals for Bigirimana and former England international Joe Cole.
In his pre-match press conference, Tony told reporters: “It was a difficult conversation with Gael about not playing, being told he’s not in the 18.”
“I had the same at the end of last season and it’s a reflection of where the club is really. We’ve got six loans and they’re all just about first picks so it’s a difficult scenario.
“It shows this club hasn’t got an underbelly. We need some players, Coventry City players who are signed, sealed and delivered with two years left on their contract. If someone wants to buy them we are in a strong position where we either don’t have to let them go or can negotiate a decent price for them and reinvest the money to buy some more players.
“January is three weeks away now and things could change then. Hopefully we might be able to firm up some of the loans to permanent signings and then the problem disappears, so I have some choices to make on a matchday over the next few weeks.”
He added: “It’s not just about keeping Gael happy, it’s about keeping whoever happy because each game might dictate a different option for us.”
Newcastle will be open to the prospect of offloading Bigirimana permanently, with reports claiming Steve McClaren will be forced to sell before he buys this January transfer window.
