Speculation in the West Midlands suggests Paul Lambert could turn to one of his former strikers to boost his attacking options before tomorrow’s loan deadline.

Sources say promotion-chasing City are understood to have examined the prospect of signing centre-forward Clive Platt for the rest of the season from Championship strugglers Coventry City.

Thirty three-year-old Platt played under Lambert at Colchester United and scored twice in the 7-1 win at Norwich on the opening day of the 2009-10 season, the result that triggered the chain of events leading to Lambert’s arrival as manager at Carrow Road 10 days later.

Lambert has already signed two members of the Colchester side that inflicted that heavy defeat in midfielder David Fox and defender Marc Tierney.

Wolverhampton-born Platt joined the Sky Blues last July, following Lambert’s successor as Colchester boss, Aidy Boothroyd, to the Ricoh Arena. He has scored just three times this season, but has been sidelined since mid-February by injury.

The Canaries last night declined to comment on a possible move for Platt, but time is running out to bring in a new face for the final eight games of the Championship season as the club bids to complete back-to-back promotions.

Strikers Chris Martin and Aaron Wilbraham are currently out through injury, though both players have 10 more days to recover before second-placed City’s next match, at home to Scunthorpe United.

The 6ft 3in Platt joined Walsall as an apprentice in 1995 and later played for Rochdale, Notts County, Peterborough and Milton Keynes Dons before joining Colchester for a club record �300,000 in July 2007, after the U’s lost strike pair Chris Iwelumo to Charlton and Jamie Cureton to Norwich.

Platt has a career tally of 113 goals in 581 appearances in all competitions and is just two short of 100 Football League goals.

His last outing for Coventry came in the 2-1 home win over Crystal Palace on February 12, since when he has been out with a calf injury, but he was reported to be close to returning shortly before Boothroyd was sacked last week and Andy Thorn installed as caretaker boss.

Lambert repeated at the weekend that he had explored countless options in the loan market.

A bid to sign Peterborough’s highly-rated striker, Craig Mackail-Smith, on loan with a permanent move to follow, folded last week, while Bolton’s Robbie Blake rejected a loan move earlier this month.

• City’s on-loan midfielder, Henri Lansbury, is one of five players to have pulled out of the England Under-21 squad for friendlies against Denmark and Iceland.

Lansbury reported an unspecified slight knock and will miss tomorrow’s game at Viborg and Monday’s fixture at Preston. Gary Hooper, Mark Davies, Jack Rodwell and Alex Smithies have also pulled out of the games, which will serve as warm-ups for the European Championships this summer.