Coventry City set to conclude deal for 23-year-old defender on free transfer | OneFootball

The Sky Blues are set to confirm their first deal of the summer window

Coventry City are set to sign Spanish left-back Miguel Angel Brau on a free transfer as Frank Lampard continues his pre-season preparations.

That is according to an update from Zinny Boswell of Sky Sports on the publication's online Transfer Centre blog (12:08 - 19/06), with the 23-year-old's contract at La Liga 2 side Granada expiring at the end of the month.

Lampard is currently undergoing his maiden pre-season at the CBS Arena after masterminding a surge into the Championship play-offs during his first six months in charge, before the Sky Blues' recent woes in the post-season lottery continued, losing dramatically to eventual promotion winners Sunderland in the semi-finals.

Coventry have already seen exit talk surround some of their most high-profile stars, with Jack Rudoni and Milan van Ewijk already the subject of reported interest from Premier League sides, whilst the majority of the squad in this part of the West Midlands have been retained, at least for now.

City have been linked with a handful of free agent signings ahead of the 2024/25 season's official conclusion date of June 30th, and in Brau's case, confirmation of a deal would put an already existing transfer saga to bed.

Coventry City set to conclude Miguel Angel Brau deal amid previous transfer speculation

Shortly after the first of City's two contests with Sunderland in the play-offs, it was reported by Spanish outlet, Solofichajes, via X, that Brau had rejected a contract offer with Granada in order to pursue a move to the CBS, with the deal set to officially go through at the end of June.

Earlier this month, it was also claimed by Spanish journalist, Matte Moretto, that a deal for the left-back had been "completed", although this announcement would come inbetween the closing and reopening of the summer transfer window which was in place between June 10th and 16th amid the beginning of the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.

Sky Sports have now backed up these aforementioned claims with the latest update on their Transfer Centre blog, with Brau expected to be Lampard's first signing of the summer after rejecting a new deal at the Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes.

The Cartagena native has featured 29 times for the Andalusian club's senior side, with 26 of those coming in last season's La Liga 2 campaign, in which Granada finished seventh with 65 points after beginning the season as a newly-relegated outfit.

Brau only has one top-flight appearance to his name, and this came in a 30-minute cameo in a 7-0 defeat at the hands of Girona on the final day of the 2023/24 season.

Coventry City are exploring a plethora of free agent options

It remains to be seen just how well Brau will adapt to the rigours of the Championship, with the demands of Spain's second tier completely different.

His statistics throughout last season point towards a very combative and tenacious full-back, which make him an ideal long-term replacement for the experienced Jake Bidwell, who remains under contract at the CBS until 2027 after penning fresh terms in January, with the Liverpudlian battling for a starting berth alongside Jay Dasilva.

It was exclusively revealed by FLW that the Sky Blues and Norwich City have Harry Toffolo on their respective transfer radars too, although the man who has recently departed Nottingham Forest has also been linked with a move to Sunderland, whilst Emil Riis and Tom Lawrence have also emerged as potential signings who are available on a free transfer following their exits from Preston North End and Rangers.

These sorts of deals point towards a low-risk, high-reward transfer strategy from Lampard and Doug King, and these savvy pickups could certainly go under the radar if City were to get next season off to a positive start.