Young defender, Sam McCallum put pen-to-paper on a deal with Premier League side Norwich City earlier today, before re-joining the Sky Blues on loan for the remainder of the season.
Sam has enjoyed a successful spell in the City starting eleven since the turn of 2019 and his performances haven’t gone unnoticed, with the Canaries signing McCallum.
City boss, Mark Robins was disappointed to see Sam leave the club on a permanent deal, explaining the transfer fee covers ‘black holes’ in the clubs finances.
He said: “I’ve got to say I’m really disappointed that we have to do it, but clearly there are a number of factors that mean we have had to.
“The offer became too big to turn down, but also we have to do that because we have to fill black holes and that is the nature of the job I have to do.
“This year was a bigger black hole clearly because we’re not in Coventry we’re at Birmingham City and we have 5000-6000 supporters and that’s the economics of it.
“Last time I was here this was an unknown to me but it’s clearly a known factor in the way that the club has to run and has been run for a long time but that’s how it is and that’s where we need to build and that’s the big thing for me.
“We want to get back to Coventry, get a significant amount of season ticket holders as quickly as we possibly can do so I can build as much as I need to in order to progress.
“I said at the start of the window if we keep every together then it’s been a successful window, it’s actually been slightly more than that because we’ve filled any holes as well as keeping everybody together.
“It’s disappointing but it’s what we are, there’s no hiding away from the fact that we are a development model and that’s what development models are, you have to be proud of it, the fact we’ve recruited really well, the fact that he’s been coached really well, the fact that we’ve given him an opportunity.”
Whilst McCallum has departed the club, Robins revealed he doesn’t expect there to be any incomings at Coventry on Deadline Day.
“Anybody that thinks there’s people coming in are sadly mistaken and whilst you can look around and watch everybody else doing it, it can make you feel like we’re not doing anything and we’re paralysed but that isn’t the case.
“We’re moving on with things that we can do and can affect and that’s more in the summer when we’ll be in a stronger position.
“I’ve had a conversation with the owner, there’s a necessity to sell but also bring back and moving forward I will get some backing in the summer to be able to strengthen again.
“Those for me were constructive conversations and we move on and good luck to Sam, I’m delighted to have him back, he’s done so well.
“It’s not as if we’re struggling, we’ve got a lot of good players and there’s good players who can’t get in the team.
“So, I’ve got to be happy because that’s the nature of it so that isn’t a story that’s exactly the circumstances that I manage under and that’s the nature of the club at the moment.”