Coventry City "Keeping Tabs" On Jake Cooper

Reading FC's young academy product Jake Cooper could be on the move to Coventry City, a local paper has reported.

According to the Coventry Telegraph, Tony Mowbray is keen to bring in reinforcements for his injury-hit defence and while a more experienced head is preferable, the giant Englishman is said to be "on the shortlist". The rumour reads:

The long term absence of Reda Johnson and Jordan Willis has effectively reduced the Sky Blues boss to a perm four from five situation at the back.

And although he originally indicated that he was looking for an experienced campaigner the Telegraph understands that his list of potential targets now includes 20-year-old Cooper who has notched 15 first team appearances for Championship Royals since making his debut last season.

Mowbray would not confirm his interest last night but conceded: "We’ve been looking at a number of players of all ages.

"As I have indicated all along I want to make sure that anyone we bring in is the right man for the job but there’s no denying that we are very exposed now if we pick up any more injuries in those positions."

We can only assume this is a potential loan agreement, considering how highly regarded Cooper seems to be with Steve Clarke and the coaching team. After fellow academy graduate Dominic Samuel impressed in his short loan stint at the Ricoh last season, we can but hope that if this deal does transpire that he will do equally as well and be ready to stake a claim to be first choice centre back in the 2016/17 season — whichever division that may be.

As with any transfer rumour at this stage of the season and with not much in the way of an actual source, take the rumour with a pinch of salt but it looks like a good deal for all involved… Unless Clarke thinks a suddenly rocky defence can be solved by the 6ft3in Cooper, who did well to shackle Lukaku in the Capital One Cup in September.