Coventry City should plot swoop for 16-goal, 11-assist forward when Gyokeres departs: Opinion

Aaron Collins was one of the most prolific players in League One last season and he’s worth taking a punt on for the Sky Blues

In the next couple of weeks, Coventry City could be well and truly in the money if they agree to a sale of star striker Viktor Gyokeres.

Even though there have been suggestions by owner Doug King that the Sweden international could end up seeing out his contract until next year, the logical and expected conclusion will be a multi-million-pound departure for the 24-year-old.

The front-runners appear to be Sporting CP of Portugal, who have been making offers for Gyokeres and they look poised to give him UEFA Europa League football, with £17.2 million and a hefty sell-on clause on the table for a player who scored 21 times in the Championship last season and notched 12 assists too.

His exit for bigger and better things is expected but even though the Sky Blues are going to get plenty of money in the bank through his sale, their shrewd business in the transfer market in recent years means that it is unlikely they’re going to bring in a replacement which smashes their budget.

Mark Robins and his recruitment team will once again be smart, but one player that may be worth taking a punt on has been plying his trade in League One for the last 12 months and that is Aaron Collins of Bristol Rovers.

Who is Aaron Collins?

The 26-year-old Welshman came through the academy system at Newport County, making his senior debut for the Exiles in 2014 as a 17-year-old.

After 25 appearances for County as a teenager, Wolverhampton Wanderers spotted Collins’ talent and signed him in January 2016 for their development squad for an undisclosed fee, but he never made a breakthrough into the first team at Molineux.

Instead, Collins spent lots of time out on loan at clubs such as Notts County, and Tranmere, and a return to Newport in 2018 was facilitated – a year later though he departed Wolves permanently and joined Morecambe in League Two.

Eight goals in 15 matches for the Shrimps saw him snapped up by fourth-tier rivals Forest Green Rovers, and after 16 goals in 83 matches, he then joined Bristol Rovers in 2021 – a place where he has really kicked on.

Collins helped fire the Gas to promotion from League Two in 2021-22 with 16 goals in 45 appearances, and he scored the same amount of goals in League One, keeping fit and playing in every single match at the same time.

Along with being the club’s top scorer, Collins also provided 11 assists for Rovers, and despite being an out-and-out striker he often played on the left of a front three under Joey Barton, proving that he can slot into a few different systems.

What is Aaron Collins’ situation at Bristol Rovers?

After his good League Two campaign over a year ago, Collins signed an extension at the Memorial Stadium to keep him at Rovers until the summer of 2025.

That means the 25-year-old has two years remaining on his contract, and it also means that it would take a significant fee for Coventry – or any club for that matter – to prize Collins away from Bristol Rovers.

Also, the Championship is a big step up from League One, but Collins looks to have a skill set that should see him adapt well – he’s very two-footed and has scored a variety of goals for Rovers over the last two seasons from different angles and distances.

It’s always going to be hard to replace Gyokeres as he is clearly above Championship level now in his career, but Collins has an all-round game that does have shades of him – he just probably doesn’t have as much physical strength as the Swede.