The celebrations are finally coming to an end in Ipswich Town and Coventry City. Ed Sheeran has his guitar out at the promotion after party and Frank Lampard has mentioned his Jose Mourinho anecdote for the third time in the last hour.

Home time and a thumping headache awaits, but more crucially, so does some crucial transfer planning.

Sunderland will be the first to advise just how important recruitment can be. The Black Cats went from playoff success to a potential top half finish.

Now, it's Coventry who are attempting to take that same initiative.

Coventry open talks to sign £35m striker

The main aim for the Sky Blues is to avoid becoming the next Burnley. Leeds United and Sunderland have left them a blueprint to follow and recent rumours suggest that they're taking their first steps towards the treasure on the map.

Ross Barkley is one name threatening to steal the headlines on that front. The Aston Villa midfielder is the right type of calibre, that's for sure.

He's had experience at the very top level and enjoyed revived form when at Luton Town in the 23/24 campaign. Now, it's reportedly Fulham and Coventry going head-to-head for his signature.

Barkley, however, is not the only impressive name on the promoted side's radar. As reported by TEAMTalk, Coventry have opened talks to sign Lois Openda from Juventus this summer.

The forward has failed to find his best form in Turin and is now likely to complete an instant exit after his loan move becomes permanent in the coming months.

Whilst Juventus have an obligation to buy the forward worth £35m, their willingness to sell could yet leave the door ajar for a cut-price move for a club like Coventry.

Ipswich must battle Coventry for Openda

It seems that Ipswich already have plenty of catching up to do on the transfer front. Coventry's thinking out loud has handed the Tractor Boys the chance to do battle at the perfect time, however.

If Openda is available, it is a deal that those at Portman Road should be all over this summer.

For Coventry, it's the chance to welcome their best striker since Viktor Gyokeres, the Swede having hit 38 Championship goals across 2021/22 and 2022/23.

For Ipswich, it's an opportunity to sign a player with the calibre to carry them to survival next season.

Even if his time at Juventus has damaged his stocks, that makes now the perfect time to invest for the two promoted clubs. They won't get a better opportunity to land a player of such quality, who could yet rediscover the form he enjoyed at RB Leipzig.

Of course, the last time that Ipswich were in the Premier League, they had Liam Delap to rely on. The forward scored 12 goals in his first Premier League campaign - enough to earn a move to Chelsea.

Fast-forward one year and the move hasn't worked out, but Ipswich remain without a player capable of reaching that level in the top flight.

By comparison, for example, George Hirst only scored 11 goals in the Championship this season and is unlikely to replicate that in the Premier League.

Signing Openda, who has proven his ability in the Bundesliga and featured in the Champions League, would end any concerns over Kieran McKenna's frontline.

That's not to say Coventry won't have their say, though. The Sky Blues have already opened talks to sign the forward and would be welcoming their most high-profile player since watching Gyokeres leave.

Openda may not be the same type of striker as the bigger, more powerful Gyokeres, but he does bring others into play at a higher level.

It's why he became Leipzig's chief creator as well as a reliable goalscorer.

Combine that with someone of Haji Wright's ability and Coventry may yet form an attack worthy of Premier League survival at the first time of asking.