West Ham may have dodged serious Coventry City bullet for £7.7m star

West Ham United had been linked with Haji Wright for a long time, but their failure to land him in the summer is starting to look like a win for them.

West Ham United have been closely linked to Coventry City's Haji Wright for two successive transfer windows, but their failure to land him this past summer specifically is already looking more like a win than a defeat.

Following relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2025-26 season, the task for the Hammers is very simple - get back there as soon as possible.

And with the first international break of the season looming, they've made clear progress towards that goal. The Irons head into a three-week break in second place in the Championship, having come from two goals down to secure a point from a frantic local derby match with Millwall in their last match before going on hiatus.

With 22 goals scored in their first eight matches back, goals have not been an issue for Nuno Espirito Santo's team, and this calls into question one player with whom they've been repeatedly connected but failed to land.

Haji Wright's quad injury may have caused a sigh of relief at West Ham

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USA international Haji Wright was connected with a potential move to West Ham in each of the last two transfer windows, but the move didn't happen on either occasion, and now it's worth asking whether they've dodged a bullet by not getting a deal for him over the line.

It's not difficult to see why Haji Wright was such a tempting player for West Ham United.

He's hit double-figures in front of goal in each of the last six seasons for Coventry City, the Turkish club Antalyaspor and the Danish side Sønderjyske Fodbold, and his goalscoring exploits have earned him 22 appearances for the USA national team. He was part of their 26-player squad for the World Cup in the summer.

But attempts to take him to The London Stadium have fallen short, and on more than one occasion.

West Ham were linked to a potential move for the Coventry City striker - who signed for the Midlands outfit for £7.7 million in 2023 - in the summer, but the move never came off. It was the same at the end of last year, when rumours that West Ham may be considering a move for him while still in the Premier League never came to anything.

Given how important a strong start to the new season was, with West Ham seeking promotion straight back to the Premier League from a very competitive Championship, the club may be breathing a sigh of relief over having missed out on him. ]

It was confirmed barely a few days into the new season that Wright had picked up a quad injury which is set to rule the striker out for 12 weeks - it led to the Sky Blues dipping into the transfer market to sign both Taiwo Awoniyi and Sidiki Cherif, and West Ham had already moved on to Joel Piroe at that point as well, securing a loan deal with Leeds United for his services.

West Ham have had no issues in front of goal in 2026-27 without Haji Wright signing

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If there's one thing that can be said with certainty about West Ham's failure to land Haji Wright in the summer, it's that they suffered in front of goal for having missed out.

The 22 goals that they've scored in eight Championship matches equate to almost three a game, and they've already rattled six goals past Wrexham and four past Wolverhampton Wanderers.

There were obvious concerns that captain and striker Jarrod Bowen may leave the club during the summer. Bowen is an England international and a class act as a player, and there were many who believed that he would want to stay in the Premier League once his club had been relegated.

But Bowen stayed, and he's already scored four goals in eight league appearances this season. The same can be said for Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos, whose equaliser against Millwall completed a comeback from 2-0 down to salvage a point in their last match before the international break.

One of the clear advantages that West Ham have over many of their Championship rivals is that they can call on goals from all over the pitch. Their 6-0 win against Wrexham on the 11th September was notable for featuring six different goalscorers. Nine different players have already scored for them in their eight matches in the Championship already in 2026-27.

And when you look at them not signing Wright in the end to bolster their attack, the American's latest injury wasn't an isolated incident.

Each of his last eight consecutive seasons have been disrupted by injury to some extent or other, and West Ham would surely have been gutted, had they spent likely over £10 million on a player who was then ruled out for the first three months of the new season.

West Ham United need a quick return to the Premier League, and although they had a slightly ropey start, claiming just two points from their opening three games, they've bounced back and head into their three-week break in second place in the Championship table, with only Swansea City above them.

In a tight division, goal difference can matter hugely, and the Irons' strong start in front of goal has already given them a big leg-up in that direction. With Jarrod Bowen in strong form and the goals flying in elsewhere, West Ham may already consider Haji Wright to have been a bullet dodged.