Coventry City transfer news from CoventryLive as we get the expert view from a journalist who has watched reported Sky Blues transfer target Emil Riis every week for the last few seasons.
Coventry City have been linked with a move for Danish striker Emil Riis, who is also reportedly coveted by Championship promotion rivals Sheffield United.
When his contract with Preston North End expires this summer, the 26-year-old centre-forward will be available on a free transfer, and Sky Sports reports that the Sky Blues are interested in signing him.
According to Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph, who tweeted on social media platform X, where he has about 47k followers: “Sheffield United and Coventry City are among the Championship clubs interested in Preston North End striker Emil Riis Jakobsen.” The 26-year-old’s contract expires soon, and it is understood he would prefer to join a team with ambitions to achieve promotion to the Premier League.
Riis, who scored 12 goals last season, is a guy City fans should be familiar with, as he has scored against the Sky Blues in each of the last four Championship seasons, winning three times and opening the scoring in the first minute of the fourth.
Here’s an expert opinion from someone who has observed him week in and week out in previous seasons: Preston North End correspondent for the Lancashire Post, George Hodgson, who believes the striker would be a fantastic fit for Frank Lampard.
Type of striker:
“I wouldn’t call him a target man. When he initially came here, he struggled with linking the game, but he improved, and I believe you can now trust him to play it into his own hands and pull other players into the game. He moves intelligently, and his touch has improved, but I wouldn’t clip the ball to his head and chest and instruct him to bring it down or flick it on. I don’t think that’s his game, but he can help bring others in.”
Strengths:
“His greatest strength is sprinting power in behind, and he has a rocket-like shot from his right foot, though he can shoot with both. He’s a unique talent, but he’s been deadly at this level for several years. If Cov can get him, I believe he would be a good free agent.”
Quick and strong?
“Yeah, and he’s nicely built, about 6ft 2/3, so I can see why some people believe he’s a target guy. When he starts running, if he has grass behind him on the counterattack, he is very devastating.
“He suffered a significant knee injury 18 months/two years ago, but he still has pace. It’s funny since he is faster without the ball. He doesn’t sprint very fast with it, but he can be an utter nightmare for defenders if he gets goalside and in behind.”
Types of goals:
“He performs best off the cuff. He doesn’t look the most comfortable with simpler opportunities, albeit he still puts them away, and I believe it was a fallacy that he wasn’t the best finisher here in Preston. But when he doesn’t have much time to think about it and there’s enough space to shift the ball onto his right foot, you can expect him to score.
“I’ve never had that sensation about too many Preston attackers, but the power that he generates with his shot, and he knows what he wants to accomplish, means that if he can work space to shoot, it will often hit the target with force.
“He has some elegance, has scored a few chips and things, but hasn’t scored many headers in four or five years at Deepdale. But, right or left of the box, he can pick out the bottom corner rather nicely.”
“His body language can often appear sluggish, but if you study him for five minutes, you’ll notice that he works extremely hard for the team. He works hard, but his overall demeanor may appear loose at times, but I don’t believe he is because he wouldn’t have played so many games for Preston, who expect hard work, if he wasn’t putting in the effort. His teammates would have called him out on that as well.”
He went further: “I get why he frustrated Preston fans at times with just the way he looks because, like I said, he’s very unique and I have not seen many players like him but I wouldn’t have any concerns about his work-rate.”
Character:
“Like many Scandinavian players, he is a very cool customer. He’s really reserved. On the pitch, you’d expect him to be a big character and confident, but he’s actually such a lovely guy, the type of person you’d wrap your arm around and support. He’s a decent boy, pretty humble, knows where he’s come from, but I think he understands now that he’s been a strong striker at this level for a time, and I think he’s ready to either go and play somewhere like Coventry, where there will be a real expectation to push for the Premier League.”
Relationship with the fans:
“They used to yell ‘Riiiis…’ for about five seconds when everything was going great. But he was a bit of a scapegoat in the last five or six months because it became clear that he was not going to sign a new contract, and he was inevitably targeted.
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