Exclusive: Sky Sports pundit reveals surprise as Coventry City eye Blackburn Rovers deal
Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie has reacted to Coventry City expressing an interest in Blackburn Rovers midfielder Lewis Travis.
The Sky Blues, who narrowly missed out on a place in the Wembley Stadium play-off final after falling to eventual winners Sunderland in the semi-finals, entered the race Derby County were set to win for the Rovers captain.
As Football League World exclusively revealed, the Frank Lampard’s side are keen to add Travis to their already stacked midfield ranks, with it potentially opening the door to an exit for one of their current central operators.
Travis has played over 250 games for Blackburn, including 38 in the Sky Bet Championship last term. He joined the club as a youngster after leaving Liverpool’s academy, and has only been away from Ewood Park for a short loan spell at Ipswich Town in 2024.
He is part of the furniture at Rovers, but could be set for a move to a second-tier rival with only one year remaining on his current deal. And, Coventry are at the front of the queue of teams looking to secure his services.
Lee Hendrie thinks Coventry City already have “strong” midfield
Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Hendrie expressed surprise that the Sky Blues were pursuing another central midfielder and not focusing elsewhere this summer.
“I have always felt like that area in Coventry’s squad has been relatively strong,” he said. “Unless one of those midfielders are likely to leave the football club, you would have felt they would’ve been looking at wide areas to maybe have that more strength in depth or even in the centre forward area.”
He added: “It’s only going to bolster that midfield. There’s lots of games in the Championship on top of cup games, and I am sure that is obviously where they are trying to make that a little bit of a stronger area.
“Looking at the squad and the depth they have in midfield, Lewis Travis is a very, very good player and I am sure he would bring a certain identity of how he plays and how he’s shown he leads by example to that Coventry side.
“But, you do feel that with all the midfielders that they have, they would be looking in other areas.”
Lewis Travis move could signal Ben Sheaf exit
The potential arrival of Blackburn skipper Travis could signal the exit of one of Coventry’s current midfielders, with no need to add to the already bulky central-midfield department if there are not going to be moves out the door.
Danish youth international Vicor Torp joined in January 2024 on a lengthy deal, with Matt Grimes made the switch more recently, on the final day of January 2025.
