COVENTRY SET TO SIGN BELLAMY

The Sky Blues agreed a fee for the 21-year-old Welsh international on Tuesday night and terms with the player on Wednesday.

"Craig is on his way to Coventry for a medical," Coventry chairman Bryan Richardson confirmed on Wednesday. "It is fantastic news for the club - especially considering the calibre of opposition we were up against."

Coventry will be hoping Bellamy, who was linked with Tottenham earlier this week, can develop in the same way as Robbie Keane who moved to Highfield Road last summer and went on to leave for Internazionale in a £13 million switch within twelve months.

"We fully expect Craig to do as well as Robbie, if not better," Richardson insisted. "I don't think there's any doubt at all.

"I think the other thing one should bear in mind is that Robbie arrived and we had not got Cedric Roussel at the club.

"Now Cedric's had nearly a year with us and has improved dramatically. I think there's the makings there of a really good striker partnership."

Bellamy, who is believed to have agreed a five-year deal with the Midlands club, may make his debut for The Sky Blues alongside Cedric Roussel against Middlesbrough on Saturday. 

Richardson went on to say that it was thanks to Gordon Strachan`s reputation for developing young players that Bellamy chose to move to Highfield Road rather than other more profile clubs.

"I can safely say it is down to Gordon Strachan and his commitment that Craig chose to come to Coventry," Richardson added.

"He is a manager who is only interested in talking about football with the player and Craig has realised that this is someone who will look after him as he did with Robbie Keane."

One worry for Sky Blues` fans will be the fact that Bellamy has played just five league games since recovering from the knee ligament injury which kept him on the sidelines for much of the 1999/2000 season.

Click here for our Opta story regarding Bellamy`s likely move