Colchester United have sold striker Clive Platt to Championship club Coventry City.

COLCHESTER United have sold striker Clive Platt to Championship club Coventry City.

Sky Blues boss Aidy Boothroyd has gone back to his former club to sign the 32-year-old target man who he describes as ‘one of the most under-rated players he’s worked with’.

The fee is officially undisclosed, although Coventry have described the fee for the 6ft 4in striker as ‘nominal’.

Platt was brought to Colchester from MK Dons for �300,000 in 2007 – six times the club’s transfer record at the time.

The former Walsall, Rochdale, Notts County and Peterborough man has scored 27 goals in 135 appearances for the U’s.

Born in Wolverhampton, Platt returns to his native Midlands on a one-year deal with the option of a further year.

“Clive is one of the most under-rated players I’ve ever worked with,” said Boothroyd, who guided Colchester to an eighth place finish in League One last season.

“He is a very unselfish team player who can bind everything together.

“Everyone who plays with him scores goals and I think he can add something to the squad.

“Every squad needs the option of having a good target man and he is very experienced. I hope this will be an Indian summer for his career.”

The move leaves Colchester with very little striking options ahead of their League One kick-off at Exeter on August 7. U’s boss Ward now has just three out-and-out strikers on his books in the form of Kayode Odejayi, Steven Gillespie and Joel Thomas.

Speaking to the club’s official website, Ward said: “I’ve known Clive for a year and he is the ultimate professional, he works hard, he is never a problem around the dressing room and he works hard.

“Sometimes that’s not enough for some people, because they want to see a number nine scoring goals, but he brings people into the game and there has been a big appreciation for his contribution from other members of the squad.

“You gauge a player by how his fellow pros speak about him and there is a lot of respect for him here.

“We have had things in the background whilst this has been going on – and maybe we have missed out on a couple – but now it’s done.

“I have had chats with our scouting people and we have a shortlist of people that we will now work on. I won’t rush into it and I am OK with the situation in the short term, but it is a priority all the same.”

Boothroyd has already taken two players to Coventry this summer that he had previously earmarked for Colchester in the form of defender Richard Keogh and striker Roy O’Donovan.