The long road pays off: Haji Wright’s journey takes the USMNT striker to the Premier League with Coventry

Even early in his career, Wright knew exactly what he wanted: a chance.

It's why he took something of a risk leaving Schalke after seven Bundesliga appearances, and it's why, since leaving the German club in 2019, he's bounced around Europe searching for those chances. That, though, was the last time he kicked a ball in a top-five league.

"I was in and out of the first team, and that's not really what I wanted at that age," Wright told GOAL in the fall. "Seeing Weston [McKennie] in the first team and having teammates doing the same thing, I just felt like I'd had a taste already and wanted to be in a first-team environment where I could grow and play. That was my reason for leaving. Then it was the Netherlands, didn't really work there. Denmark, after that, and I started to play more. Then Turkey, same story, and now, Coventry."

As Wright alluded to, there were missteps. The Netherlands certainly didn't work , as he scored just one goal in 23 appearances for VVV-Venlo between the ages of 21 and 22. After that experience, Wright took a step down, joining Sonderjyske in Denmark. From there, double-digit goals, a move to Turkey, more goals, and ultimately, a transfer to Coventry City, who entrusted him to lead the club's Championship push.

"Eventually, I got comfortable moving around every season," he explained. "But I've never felt comfortable in the sense of thinking I'm more than enough. I've always wanted to strive for more. I've never wanted to be stagnant. I've always wanted to improve. That's all that I've tried to do."

Wright surely has improved, which is why this season has been his best yet.

Make no mistake: Wright has been fantastic since joining Coventry City in 2023. He's had to be, too. When he signed from Antalyaspor after two standout seasons in Turkey, he was the club's record signing. A £7.7 million fee isn't pocket change for a Championship club.

In that first season, he scored 19 goals in 50 games, including 16 in league play. In his second, it was 12 in 27 as he hit double-figures despite injury issues. And then there's this season: 16 in 37 that puts him second on the Championship's goalscoring chart. Despite another slight injury issue midseason, Wright has been instrumental this season. Interest from the Premier League reportedly came in for the winger, and Coventry named their price: a world-record fee of £200 million. It was somewhat sarcastic, but also a message: Wright was simply too important to let go.

“I’m delighted for Haji,” Coventry boss Frank Lampard said. “Strikers get judged so much on goals. He came out of the blocks at the start of the season. Then he had a little bit of an injury when he was away with his national team, and, when he came back, it sort of broke his rhythm, but there’s so much talent there.

“When you get him really feeling like this is a competitive game, he uses all his attributes and strength. He’s got great quality."

Equally as important have been the little things. Whether used as a No. 9 or as a winger, Wright has shown the willingness to press. He sees that as a point of pride. Not as much as the goals, of course, but important nonetheless.

"If you're a striker and you're scoring, you're doing well," he said in the fall. "If you're not, they're going to say you're a bad player. We do our best to help the team in every way we can. If you're a striker who's not scoring, you know you're probably not going to be needed.

'It's tough, man. I do my best every game to try to contribute in other ways if I'm not scoring. I try to be a defensive monster or affect the game in ways other people can score, but the goals are always in our minds. If you're scoring, you're doing well."

Wright's doing well has led to Coventry succeeding, which is how they achieved a long-awaited promotion this season.

Social media will tell you there are proper Premier League teams, the ones that are considered part of the league's heritage, no matter how much they bounce between the divisions. Coventry City are not one of those teams. This is not Premier League heritage; this is a club doing things it hasn't done in a long, long time.

With their promotion this season, Coventry City are back in the Premier League for the first time since the 2000-2001 season. To put that into perspective, that season was manager Lampard's final one as a player at West Ham. The landscape has changed so much since then, but Coventry are set to be a part of it once again.

Over the 25 years in England's lower leagues, the club dropped pretty far. They were relegated from League One, the third division, in 2017, won a playoff to get out of the fourth tier in 2018, and spent two further seasons stuck in League One again after that. In 2020, the club returned to the Championship, but suffered heartbreak in its third season back by losing the play-off final. Then, just last season, the club fell in the play-off semifinal after finishing fifth.

There will be no playoff this season. The club did it without one, and there's still a title there for the taking, too.

“It’s a serious, serious football club," Lampard told Sky Sports. "This incredible fanbase and what it means to the city, and what these players have achieved. We came in 15 months ago, 17th in the league, Mark Robins had done an incredible job to get them back up where they were, but to go and get automatic promotion as a non-parachute team, with three games to go, those boys there, how they’ve listened and trained and everything they’ve done, every day, it makes me feel emotional.”

He added, “These boys have managed to achieve something pretty unique, absolutely special, and incredible. We’ve fallen in love with the players, how they’ve reacted, the fanbase, how they’ve reacted, so it’s right up for me with what I’ve achieved.”

It's surely right up there for Wright, as well. It's all coming together at the right time.

In 2022, Wright was the only USMNT striker to score at the World Cup. His goal against the Netherlands was, admittedly, somewhat lucky. It also wasn't one Wright ever felt he could properly celebrate.

"It felt crazy," Wright told GOAL in the fall. "After it went in, I kind of felt like the momentum might change a little bit and we might get another opportunity. Obviously, that's not how it went. During the game, that's how I felt. And then after the game, you're just emotional, really. It's your dream for your whole life, you get knocked out, and everything comes out of you. I didn't really ever think about scoring. I still probably haven't really thought about it now.

"I don't really have a memory of the moment of it because it was a happy and a sad moment. Being a World Cup goalscorer is amazing. Being knocked out of that same game, though? What happened after the goal, [and] the emotions that I felt? That's what I remember."

Wright might just get another chance this summer. He's currently locked in a somewhat tight race for striker spots, although that race has become a little less crowded due to Patrick Agyemang's unfortunate injury. Alongside Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi, both potent goal-scorers themselves, Wright seems likely to make the World Cup roster if all goes to plan.

It's easy to understand why he'd be there. He's scored twice against Australia, one of the USMNT's World Cup opponents, in the fall. He offers versatility as both a striker and a winger. And, now, it can officially be said that he's headed to the Premier League.

At age 28, Wright has a hell of a resume, even if it looks a little bit different from what most could have expected. There's a key achievement on there now, though, as Wright looks set to add another league to that resume after showing exactly why he deserves to be there.