Luton Town
Championship
Luton target Coventry midfielder as Edwards aims to boost Premier League survival bid
Ben Sheaf was on the losing side when Coventry met Luton in last season's play-off final. Now Luton want to sign the Coventry star.
Luton Town are plotting a move for Coventry City midfielder Ben Sheaf to boost their Premier League survival bid, TEAMtalk can exclusively reveal.
Sheaf has been outstanding for Coventry over the last 18 months, helping the Sky Blues reach the Championship Play-Off final last season.
The former Arsenal youngster is regarded as one of the best midfielders outside the Premier League and Luton are keen to offer the all-action midfielder the chance to play at the highest level.
Luton scouts are understood to have made regular checks on Sheaf this season and have given glowing reports back to Hatters boss Rob Edwards.
Luton have made a new defensive midfielder their top priority this month as summer signing Albert Sambi Lokonga has struggled to convince since his loan arrival from Arsenal.
Luton keen on Coventry midfielder Ben Sheaf
TEAMtalk exclusively revealed last month that Luton were seriously considering terminating Lokonga’s loan from Arsenal after a hamstring injury had restricted him to just a handful of appearances in his early months with the club.
However, Lokonga has become a regular starter since returning from injury against Manchester City on December 10.
Coventry, who currently occupy the final Championship play-off spot in sixth place, will not welcome offers for Sheaf in this month’s transfer window as they make a push for promotion in the second half of the campaign.
Yet the club have already shown a tendency to succumb to the riches of the Premier League so far this season, having sold talented midfielder Gustavo Hamer to newly promoted Sheffield United in August.
Hamer has become a regular starter for Sheffield United after arriving in a £15million deal, registering two goals and two assists in 19 Premier League appearances to date.
The news of Luton’s interest in Sheaf comes at a time left-back Ryan Giles is attracting interest from a number of Championship clubs, with TEAMtalk exclusively reporting last week that Hull City are leading Leeds United and Cardiff City in the race for his signature.
Giles, who previously played under Edwards at AFC Telford and in the youth system at boyhood club Wolverhampton Wanderers, became Luton’s club-record signing last summer after shining on loan at Middlesbrough from Wolves.
However, the 23-year-old has found opportunities few and far between this season due to the impressive form of team-mate Alfie Doughty.
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