Bidding to beat drop - how Coventry, Ipswich & Hull are shaping up

On Friday, the curtain will lift on the 2026-27 Premier League season as reigning champions Arsenal host newly promoted Coventry City.

The Sky Blues, who will play in the top-flight for the first time in 25 years, will take on the challenge of survival alongside Ipswich Town and Hull City.

Sunderland and Leeds United proved the Premier League is not a closed shop when they beat the drop last season. But can it be done again?

BBC Sport takes a look at how the promoted clubs are gearing up for the season ahead.

Coventry’s ‘quality’ over quantity approach

Frank Lampard guided Coventry City back to the Premier League for the first time since 2001, winning the Championship title with 95 points and finishing 11 points clear of second-placed Ipswich.

With his managerial stock at an all-time high, Lampard attracted interest from other clubs, including Fulham.

But at the end of June, the former England international committed his future to the club by signing a new contract until 2029.

Attention soon turned to the transfer window and Lampard told BBC CWR they will “add quality” where possible.

“There’s different versions of doing it,” he said. “We’ve seen teams go up and some spend a lot of money and go down, some spend a lot of money and stay up.”

And it has been a quality over quantity approach by Coventry City,who have broken their club transfer record fee four times in this window alone, spending more than £100m.

Switzerland centre-back Aurele Amenda signed from Eintracht Frankfurt, before winger Loum Tchaouna made the switch from Burnley.

Their long pursuit of goalkeeper Carl Rushworth was finalised at the beginning of August when he joined permanently from Brighton – for a reported £22m – and Ghana midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi shortly followed for £23.1m.

Former talisman Gustavo Hamer has also returned, re-signing from Championship outfit Sheffield United, and striker Taiwo Awoniyi joins from Nottingham Forest.

All seven of Coventry’s signings – including Frank Onyeka who joined permanently this summer – have top-flight or international experience, as well as physicality to their game.

They are all expected to feature in the season opener on Friday.

Ipswich spend big – again

Like Lampard, Ipswich Town manager Gary O’Neil has plenty of Premier League experience under his belt.

And after the shock resignation of Kieran McKenna earlier this summer, O’Neil has acted quickly to get his team in the best shape possible.

Town have spent £150m this summer – the highest outlay of the three promoted clubs – on 12 major signings.

“Two seasons ago, the club didn’t get anywhere near staying in the division and this time we need to do better,” O’Neil said last month.

He had added experience with Premier League duo Sasa Lukic and Issa Diop from Fulham, and brought in Julio Enciso and Abdoul Ouattara from French club Strasbourg, who he managed before Ipswich.

BBC Radio Suffolk reporter Graeme McLoughlin said it was “glaringly obvious” Town needed a goalscorer for the new campaign and Emersonn has since arrived from Toulouse for a fee believed to be £24m plus add-ons.

He is up and running after scoring against Rayo Vallecano in pre-season and impressing with his high-press style and physicality.

In the summer of 2024, Town also brought in 12 signings, but this time they have cast their net far wider than the English leagues, with Emersonn the first Brazilian to join the club, Lukic the first Serb and Daizen Maeda the first Japanese player.

Spending big is no guarantee of survival, but quality and experience comes at a price as Ipswich and Coventry have demonstrated this summer.

Sunderland spent a record £161m last summer, with 15 players arriving in what was a complete squad overhaul by head coach Regis le Bris.

Nick Barnes, who commentates on Sunderland for BBC Radio Newcastle, said: “They were able to identify players largely unknown from Europe and South America and buy on average for around 20m euros, gambling on their due diligence to identify players they believed would only increase in value.”

Brian Brobbey, Noah Sadiki and Robin Roefs are prime examples of that strategy after impressing last season.

Ipswich have brought in the most players of the three promoted teams to date, averaging £12.5m per signing, and are closing in on Sunderland’s record spend.

Hull City spending less but signing plenty

Hull City secured their return to the Premier League after nine years away by beating Middlesbrough in the play-off final – which was largely overshadowed by ‘spygate’.

Their promotion was even more impressive considering just 12 months earlier, they had avoided relegation to League One on goal difference.

Sergej Jakirovic’s side finished sixth, but their expected goals (xG) data had them 23rd in the table with just 53 points, according to Opta Analyst.

Over-performing earned them a place in the top flight, but staying there will be harder unless they create more going forward.

Unlike Coventry and Ipswich,Hull City do not have a manager with Premier League experience which may explain why they have turned to some old hands in the transfer market this summer.

Goalkeeper Jack Butland arrived to replace Ivor Pandur, who was sold along with Aidon Shehu to avoid a points deduction for breaking EFL’s profit and sustainability regulations, while Premier League veteran Matt Targett signed as a free agent.

Joe Gelhardt has signed permanently from Leeds United after two successful loan spells over 18 months, during which he scored 14 goals in the Championship.

But going into Saturday’s opener against Manchester United,Hull City have several fitness concerns.

Striker Gelhardt is set to miss the start of the season with an ankle injury, as is fellow signing Hidemasa Morita, who is not expected to return to group training until next week.

Trusty centre-back Charlie Hughes remains sidelined with a groin injury, while Butland has had surgery on his arm and is unlikely to return before the end of the year.

To date, Hull City have brought in 11 players – but compared to Coventry and Ipswich, they have spent significantly less.

Dipping into the free market and European leagues, theyhave spent around £75m.

A large chunk of that was spent on Senegal defender Nobel Mendy, who surpassed the £20m plus add-ons club record fee paid to Olympiakos earlier this month for Greece goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis.

With the transfer window remaining open for just under two more weeks, there is still time for more additions and tweaks.

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