Coventry City midfielder Jordan Shipley believes he needs to get more game time at this stage of his career than he's currently winning, sending this potential transfer warning to Mark Robins via his side's media team.

The 24-year-old appeared just 11 times for the Sky Blues in the Championship during the 2021/22 campaign, finding himself behind Callum O'Hare for much of the season with the ex-Aston Villa man thriving in an advanced midfield role.

O'Hare's progression has been to the detriment of Shipley, who made 27 league appearances last term and 31 League One appearances during the promotion-winning 2019/20 campaign, recording five goals and five assists during the latter season.

Robins' side have taken up an option in the 24-year-old's contract to keep him at the CBS Arena until the summer of 2023 - but that seems to have been triggered just so they can acquire a fee for his services.

Third-tier side Shrewsbury Town are thought to be closing in on a deal to recruit Shipley who has shone that the Shropshire outfit's level before, potentially coming in as Steve Cotterill's first addition of the summer.

The midfielder has sent a clear message to manager Robins that he will have to bear in mind if that move doesn't materialise though, publicly requesting more game time as he spoke to his side's media team.

He said: "It’s getting to the stage now, I’ll be 25 next season and I’ve got to play games really. We’ll see what happens over the time off but I really want to play some football now and get a lot of games under my belt."

The Verdict:

You can't blame Shipley for wanting to get more football under his belt because at this stage of his career, he will need to play as much as possible if he wants to fulfil his potential.

He will probably be at the peak of his playing powers in around two or three years so he doesn't have much time to win more first-team football, the reason why he is wise to seal his move to the Shrews if that deal ends up materialising.

Callum O'Hare may have been linked with a move away from the CBS Arena in recent months with Tottenham Hotspur thought to be tracking his progress ahead of a potential summer move.

However, that move may not happen and even if it does, Robins may use the funds generated by his sale to bring in a replacement for the attacking midfielder, with Shipley potentially remaining out of the starting lineup because of that.

One or two injuries could provide him with more game time - but he shouldn't be banking on that when he can be a regular starter elsewhere and that's what he looks set to be at Shrewsbury as he potentially prepares to take the step down.