"We're hoping and expecting" - Coventry City player liked by Frank Lampard and Craig Bellamy tipped for big future | OneFootball

Kai Andrews has progressed into the Sky Blues' first-team fold despite limited opportunities

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

It has been an impressive start to the season for Coventry City, who are looking to build on the momentum gathered by Frank Lampard since his arrival at the club last November.

The Sky Blues have gradually become one of the Championship's dominant forces since their return to the level back in 2020, eventually being able to attract several high-profile names and hidden gems to the club under the ex-Chelsea and England midfielder and his predecessor, Mark Robins.

The duo of Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer, who made the club unheard levels of profit which was soon reinvested into the playing squad, have been, unarguably, the two biggest names associated with the West Midlands outfit in recent years, although before that, City were able to develop future England internationals in the form of James Maddison and Callum Wilson.

Lampard, in his previous roles at Derby County, Chelsea and Everton, also developed a reputation as a manager willing to give plenty of first-team opportunities to youngsters who had either progressed through the academy ranks at said club or was in need of regular minutes away from their parent club.

However, that doesn't seem to have taken place at the CBS Arena on a consistent basis since he took over 10 months ago, which has led to plenty of debate.

Kai Andrews dubbed as Coventry City's current emerging talent amid Frank Lampard thoughts

With that being said, Football League World posed the question to our Coventry City fan pundit, Chris Deez, as to which player is the 'next big thing' coming through the club's academy setup at Ryton-On-Dunsmore.

Deez struggled to find a standout candidate for his selection, eventually settling on the choice of 19-year-old midfielder, Kai Andrews, who has found a breakthrough hard to come by despite catching Lampard's eye on occasions.

Andrews has made just four appearances at first-team level for Coventry, though he gained experience on loan at Motherwell in the second-half of the previous season by featuring 11 times in the Scottish top-flight.

Despite Andrews' relative lack of senior experience, however, he made his international debut during Wales' 1-0 friendly defeat to Canada earlier this month and has been talked up by both Lampard and Craig Bellamy, with the Red Dragons boss fast-tracking the teenage midfielder into the squad and outlining his potential to become a "really top player".

"Our academy has gone a little bit downhill over the last decade or so," Deez claimed. "Since the likes of Callum Wilson and James Maddison, we've not really developed anyone who's gone on to make much of an impact on our team or any other team, for that matter.

"I think Kai Andrews is probably the one we're hoping and expecting to make it big one day," he stated. "He's been out on loan a couple of times, he's sat on the bench a few times for us this season, doesn't seem to be getting many chances.

"But he's been called up by Wales," Deez added. "So somebody somewhere sees potential in him.

"I don't know if he needs to go out on loan again, maybe to a higher-end League One team, perhaps.

"He has looked good the few times we've seen him play, but they've been few and far between. He's another player that Lampard has talked up and up and said how much he likes them and can potentially see their hunger and desire, but hasn't given them much of a chance.

"The only other player I can think of is Callum Perry," he continued. "We saw him play in pre-season. He only made a brief cameo but he put himself about really well.

"Everyone was hyped to see things from him, at least see him make the bench, but he's doing well for the academy. He scored against Bournemouth the other day as we came from behind.

"But I'm really grasping at straws here as there's not much to pick from," Deez said. "We always see social media posts that are 'oh this new Cov wonderkid scored an incredible goal for the Under 18's' and you never hear of them again, or they end up on loan in the National League or League Two.

"It's strange. I think we need to look at our academy and look at why we aren't bringing through great players anymore because, for a long time, we were."

Coventry City academy shortcomings will be a source of frustration for the club after James Maddison, Callum Wilson exploits

As Deez alluded to, Andrews is clearly highly-rated by Lampard and those in the Wales set up, yet he has only made four senior appearances for the Sky Blues, which will prove extremely frustrating.

Each and every fanbase desires for their squad to be largely made up of homegrown talents that can flourish in the here-and-now before being sold on for what now counts as 'pure profit' in PSR regulations to help the club moving forward, whether that be investment towards the playing squad or the stadium.

Coventry were able to do just that with the likes of Maddison and Wilson, who have become seasoned professionals at Premier League level, whilst clearly retaining a special place in their heart for their hometown club and the assistance they were given in order to blossom into future England internationals.

For whatever reason, such circumstances aren't unfolding right now, meaning City are at risk of losing out on talent to local rivals such as Aston Villa, Birmingham City and Leicester City.