Coventry City manager Andy Thorn has said that, if the price is right, he won't rule out signing an experienced, older striker like Kevin Phillips.
Phillips is out of contract and has been released by Birmingham City, while Coventry City need to find a goal scorer after the Marlon King fiasco.
Thorn would prefer to recruit younger players to his squad, but he won't rule out signing someone of Phillips' age and experience if he thinks it would benefit the team especially if the player would accept the wages offered by City.
Philips is a proven goal scorer at Championship and Premier League level, but he will be 38 next month and would at best only have one more season left in him.
Thorn admitted to the CT: “We haven’t spoken to Kevin but he’s a goalscorer isn’t he and he’s had a good career. I think you have to be really careful, with all due respect to him because of his age but he is someone who sticks the ball in the back of the net and that’s what we want."
“So we would have a chat with Kevin, that’s for sure. I am not saying that is the route we are going down but I’d be silly not to at least speak to him with his track record. If we went down that route it would be him and a younger one because I want young, hungry and ready to go players and that’s no sleight on Kevin Phillips because he is a terrific footballer and if we get the chance we will sit down with him."
“I am sure he’ll have a lot of offers and, financially, I am sure he’ll be on a lot of money, but he’s settled in the area so I’d love to have a chat with him, but everything has to be in perspective because I imagine he’s been earning fortunes.”
Phillips has been living in the area since his move to Aston Villa in 2005. He moved to West Bromwich Albion in 2006 and to Birmingham City in 2008.
Coventry City could not, nor would they, be able to offer Phillips any where near the £25,000 a week wages he was thought to have been earning at Birmingham City, but he does have an impressive goal scoring record of 254 goal in 561 games and has been part of promotion winning WBA, Sunderland and Birmingham City teams in previous seasons .