Coventry City were narrowly beaten 2-1 by Wolverhampton Wanderers in today's pre-season friendly at the Ricoh Arena.

The Sky Blues, who secured an impressive 16th-placed finish in their first season back for nine years in England's second-tier, named two trialists in their squad to face the Premier League club.

Martin Cranie was named as one, with the 34-year-old becoming a free agent after departing Luton Town in the summer. The versatile defender featured in the Midlands club's 1-0 defeat to Mansfield Town during the week, as per a report by Coventry Live.

However, the vastly experienced Championship defender was joined by former Crystal Palace man Pape Souare, as confirmed by Coventry Live. The 31-year-old left the Premier League club in 2019, joining Troyes in Ligue 2.

The left-back made 17 appearances during the 2019/20 campaign but then has not appeared since then. Last month, Souare linked up with Palace's U23 squad to keep fit.

The verdict

Adding Souare could turn out to be a very smart move from Coventry. They have just seen Ian Maatsen arrive - a player who is undoubtedly talented, but he is vastly inexperienced.

Souare would provide competition for the young full-back, but his experience in various leagues across the world could prove invaluable for Maatsen.

Souare is also a little more defensive-minded than Maatsen, and whilst that does not seem too much of an issue with Mark Robins looking to play with wing-backs once more, Souare would provide a stable option if Coventry do revert to a back four.

However, Souare's lack of football in the past 12 months is a worrying sign. It would take the 31-year-old a while to get back up to the sharpness required at second-tier level.