Coventry City chairman Bryan Richardson has ruled out signing Dion Dublin, but says he expects to sign a new striker before the next match.

Transfer rumours have been flying around as the Sky Blues have looked at a range of options to find a much-needed goalscorer.

The John Hartson deal finally broke down last week after the club was unable to get insurance for the injury-prone Wimbledon striker.

Cedric Roussel has attracted a £1.75m bid from Wolves, while Burnley said they would be interested in signing John Aloisi if they could afford him.

Bolton want to sign Colin Hendry, but a re balking at paying a fee, while Carlton Palmer is not going to move back to former club Sheffield Wednesday. He has, however, been linked with the manager’s job at Bristol Rovers.

Speculation has been rife that out-of-favour Dion Dublin could return to Highfield Road after losing his place in the Aston Villa team.

But club chairman Bryan Richardson said in an email to a fan:

“We would definitely not be bringing Dublin back to Highfield Road for a number of reasons.

“We expect to have a striker on board before the West Ham game.”