Gordon Strachan believes Coventry City will need a bit of established Premier League class in the side to be able to compete with some of the best players in the world next season. The former Sky Blues boss believes Doug King needs to strike a balance in terms of investment, making sure the club doesn’t over stretch itself but also has enough quality to get a foothold among English football’s elite. While not advocating spending as much as Sunderland did last summer, the 69-year-old points to the marquee signing of 33-year-old former Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka, whose influence in the Black Cats’ side has been key to the club avoiding a swift return to the Championship. FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK! Get more Coventry City news and analysis via our FB page And he believes that an experienced player with similar standing in the game would be the perfect fit for Frank Lampard’s team next term. Asked what City are going to need to do in the summer in terms of strengthening, whether it’s a question of striking a balance with investment, Strachan told CoventryLive: “There will be but you have got to remember that the club is well run now. There’s a reality about it and the owners now, their job is never to let the club go back to where it was. That should be a priority. And that means you can’t overspend and put yourself in your position where it ends up where they were for 20 years. “So that’s reality. You can’t be spending £300 million or £400 million because you go in debt and then you’ve got a problem. It’s happened to many clubs and you can’t do that.” City owner King has already told CoventryLive that he’ll do it the “ Coventry way” while insisting that he feels it only fair to give the players who got them promoted the opportunity to prove themselves in the Premier League, with a bit of help from new signings. Strachan, who was speaking at the Coventry Building Society Arena where he’s an ambassador for the CBS, continued: “Do you stay with the same group of players and let them go again, which, from the heart side as a manager you probably want to do that. But there’s a reality… “When Leeds went up and won the Championship we went to the top league and Howard Wilkinson then bought Gary McAllister, Rodney Wallace, Tony Dorigo, Steve Hodge knowing fine well that’s what he needed to do. “I don’t think Coventry have got the financial clout to go and do that, but also I would advise them to not do that because you get so much in debt. “I would say if you were looking at it just now, I think Sunderland are a good example. They bought Granit Xhaka who has a presence, who’s been there and done it. And I think the Coventry players would benefit with two or three signings like a Xhaka or even like a (Jordan) Henderson at Brentford, players of that ilk. “So when Coventry go into the Premier League next year, I’m just saying Xhaka, Henderson, people like that. It might be even a Harry Maguire, but if you’re in the tunnel with these people, the younger players and even the experienced players at Coventry are going to go, ‘wow, thank goodness you’re here.’ “It’s like a helping hand and I think that’s the type of player that they probably want to go with.” Coventry felt the benefit of recruiting older and more experienced players when they started their rise up from League Two, drafting in the likes of Michael Doyle and Liam Kelly, and then later experienced heads and leaders like Kyle McFadzean. But the club’s main business model in recent years has been to signing up and coming younger players who they can develop and sell on for profit – the likes of Ben Sheaf, Victor Gyokeres and Gus Hamer being the obvious examples. Jahnoah Markelo is the latest recruit who fits that bill, the winger joining in January with a view to making a longer term impact. But Strachan argued: “A lot of clubs want to get younger players but they need to develop them and there’s no time for development in the Premier League, seriously. “I’ve seen clubs go and try to develop players and sell them on but they’re up and down and not really had an affect to the Premier League. I think Sunderland have done it. Having said that it’s not been outstanding but it’s been reality football.” He added: “I’m not talking about getting in guys who are tired of it, I’m talking about players who have still got hunger, still got a drive, still got pride. So as I said, that’s the Harry Maguire type of thing. Granit Xhaka, Henderson – all these guys that have been through everything. Like James Milner, four or five years ago. “That type of player, I think the fans would probably see their experience but the players themselves, having these guys next to them is important. Going back to when I was a player, I’m standing next to Bryan Robson and thinking, ‘you beauty, I’m ok with this,’ you know.” All Together Better – To find out more about Coventry Building Society, visit thecoventry.co.uk Every day, the CoventryLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Coventry City content. Our dedicated reporter Andy Turner – who you can follow on X – follows the Sky Blues home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between. 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