Coventry City Goalkeeper Saga Heats Up Amid Recall Interest

The Transfer Saga With a Twist

The shot-stopper is in demand, and for good reason. There is just one thing getting in the way of his parent club swooping him back, and it is quite a big thing at that. I can see the appeal for a goalkeeper in the sticks for a club steering clear at the top of the division, having claimed more clean sheets than anybody else in the Championship this season.

Coventry City will do everything in their power to ensure that he remains at the club for the remainder of the season, but this power may be taken out of their hands if speculations prove not to be true. It may not be all doom and gloom for the Sky Blues if this were to be the case; it's safe to say that Frank Lampard has a few key contacts up his sleeve from his playing days. We look into the possibilities of the Championship club losing their first-choice goalkeeper in the January transfer window.

🚨 Carl Rushworth could be recalled by Brighton in January. My understanding is that there no recall clause, at the insistence of the player and his representative. They wanted a whole season at #PUSB.

[via @alex_crook]#BHAFC pic.twitter.com/DkL9TOey0n

— Brighton Buzz (@BrightonBuzzz) December 16, 2025

Super Carl Rushworth in Goal

Carl Rushworth is the name, and one that you will become very familiar with in years to come if you haven't done so already. The loanee goalkeeper has kept eight clean sheets in 21 appearances this season and has prevented more goals than any other keeper in the division (4.50 goals prevented). His performance against Bristol City last time out was nothing short of remarkable, fully deserving the unusual accolade of the only clean sheet achieved in the Championship over the weekend.

I am sure that those who backed the 'Both Teams to Score' bet were not as pleased with his heroics. Rushworth has quickly become a fan favourite with the Coventry faithful since joining on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion at the start of the season, a product of the Seasiders academy. This follows a series of EFL loan spells, including seasons at both Lincoln City and Swansea City, before quickly being recalled from Hull City last season due to an injury to Brighton backup goalkeeper Jason Steele.

Carl Rushworth. ⛔️

Big moments. Big saves. 🔒 pic.twitter.com/mWOV9WVKF1

— Coventry City (@Coventry_City) December 14, 2025

To Recall, Or Not To Recall

Recent rumours have speculated that Brighton is interested in cutting Rushworth's loan deal short, a move that would see the 24-year-old return early from consecutive loan spells. Yet, sources indicate that there was not a recall clause included in the deal this time around. A term that would certainly make sense for both parties; otherwise, Rushworth would be packing his suitcase more times than featuring between the sticks.

A case of wanting what you can't have for the Premier League, that is, until they get him back at the end of the season and attach a hefty transfer fee to his name. Well played, Tony Bloom. Having said this, it is yet to be confirmed whether this recall clause is present or not, so it is only right that we look at some replacement options that Coventry could consider in the upcoming transfer window.

Options Aplenty in The Goalkeeping Market

Anthony Patterson (Sunderland): The pick of the bunch would be Patterson. The former Sunderland No. 1 is out of favour at the Premier League club, and this doesn't seem likely to change anytime soon as Robin Roefs continues to impress as first choice. If a clean sheet against Newcastle is anything to go by, the Dutchman may have a statue outside of the Stadium of Light in years to come. Patterson has already been linked with a move to the Championship, with the likes of QPR rumoured to have loan interest in his services.

QPR are interested in signing Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson on loan in January.

He played 42 games last year, but has since lost his place in the starting XI this season.

Rangers, Southampton and Leicester are also looking at the 25-year-old.

(Via: @reluctantnicko) pic.twitter.com/HbAp2UPLuT

— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) December 14, 2025

A move to the Championship table-toppers may be that bit more enticing for the 25-year-old, knowing what it takes to achieve promotion from the second tier. Sunderland seems prepared to allow Patterson to go out on loan with the expectation of guaranteed playing time, and no doubt Coventry will grant this request as Swedish goalkeeper Oliver Nnonyelu Dovin continues to recover from a cruciate ligament injury.

Gabriel Slonina (Chelsea): The young American, nicknamed "Gaga", is currently playing for the Blues U21 side and will be on the hunt for first-team football, having had a taste of it whilst on loan at Barnsley last season. The connection of Frank Lampard and Chelsea comes in handy here; we are sure there would be little to no issue with a loan move here if Coventry were to show interest in Slonina. The 21-year-old has already received a cap at the international level and will want to prove himself ahead of the World Cup starting in June next year.

Gaga Slonina reached the 10 matches mark on Sep 28 with Barnsley in the EFL League 1 and EFL Cup 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. Here is a run down of the stats according to Sofascore

Starts: 10
Minutes: 900
Clean sheets: 2
Saves: 31
Goals conceded: 17 (7 coming from Man U)
Shootout & PK saves: 2
Pass… pic.twitter.com/N5Ulg74r6A

— Zach McCabe (@zjmccabe) October 3, 2024

Fraser Forster (Free Agent): Quite a rogue shout, this, but Forster has been around and knows what it takes to perform at a high level. The 37-year-old has never had a Championship appearance to his name but was a prominent figure for Southampton in the Premier League, and he has since gone on to feature for both Celtic and Tottenham in European competitions. Forster was linked to a move to Serie A outfit Parma earlier this year but nothing seemed to come of it.

The only issue here would be wage demands. For a player so used to competing at the highest level, it was only right that he was paid the big bucks. Having been on the free agent market for a while now, we reckon that he wouldn't mind taking a cut to the bank balance, especially if an EFL Championship Title label were to come with it.

Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya's run of 451 minutes without conceding in the Premier League came to an end on Saturday.

In 2015/16, #SaintsFC's Fraser Forster went a club record 708 minutes without conceding a goal in the PL.

He's currently a free agent... 👀 pic.twitter.com/7zzwAv8Uca

— Saints Statistics (@TheStatsSaint) November 11, 2025