Coventry City manager Mark Robins has revealed that Tyler Walker will get a chance to fight for his place in his squad for the upcoming Championship season, and that the striker is 'under no illusions' as to where he stands in his plans.

The 25-year-old arrived at the Sky Blues in 2020 from Nottingham Forest, having played just 40 league matches for the Tricky Trees after graduating from their academy.

Walker scored seven times in the Championship in his debut season with Cov, but he struggled for regular game-time and goals in the first half of the 2021-22 campaign, scoring just three times in all competitions.

 

 

 

 

In search of more minutes, Walker headed to Portsmouth on loan for the second half of the season, but he struggled under Danny Cowley and scored just the once in 15 outings.

Having failed to fire at the level below Coventry are at, questions will no doubt be raised this summer over Walker's immediate future - especially with one year remaining on his contract.

Robins has now moved to clarify the forward's short-term future at the club, and it appears that the son of former England international Des Walker will be given a chance to fight for his future.

“I have had a meeting with Tyler because nothing has changed," Robins told CoventryLive.

"He’s a goal scorer and you don’t give goal scorers away.

"He’s been to Portsmouth and it didn’t go how he hoped it would have done, but also what it’s done is, he’s come back and it’s a case of, ‘right, OK,’ and we had a conversation on the back of, let’s see where we’re at in pre-season, we’ll have a look and see where you’re at.

"He’s going to train, he’s going to work hard, which I think he has already done this summer anyway, and he will come back and we will just wipe the slate clean and see where he is.

"So we’ll go from there. I don’t think I can say fairer than that with anybody.”

“What’s happened has happened. He’s been out and come back and he’s our player, and like I say, he is a goal scorer - always has been and always will be.

"And we need to see where he’s at when we get into pre-season, and I am not just talking about this week, I’m talking about moving forward.

"We have five weeks and three days of pre-season to go so let’s see.”

The Verdict

Depending on what system Mark Robins chooses to use next season, there could be a place up-front up for grabs.

If it's a two striker system, then Viktor Gyokeres needs a partner and with Matty Godden not always fully fit and Martyn Waghorn not on top form last season, Walker could come in from the dark to take that spot.

However, Robins may choose to operate in a different way, but it all depends on how Walker performs before the 2022-23 season begins.

He will perhaps be lacking in confidence due to how poorly last season went, but Walker now has a last chance saloon to save his Coventry career.