Coventry City won’t believe their luck at summer transfer snub - Frank Lampard is laughing | OneFootball

Coventry City will be delighted that Milan van Ewijk remained at the club beyond the summer transfer window, as he stars for Frank Lampard's side.

After their play-off heartbreak at Sunderland last season, it was always going to be interesting to see how Coventry City started this campaign.

With zero defeats, 34 goals and a five-point lead over third place, Frank Lampard’s men have emphatically answered whether they would suffer a hangover in the opening 12 games.

Clearly, the manager and the players deserve huge credit for that, and whilst there’s a long way to go, the Sky Blues have made themselves firm favourites to seal a return to the Premier League.

Milan van Ewijk has been outstanding for Coventry City this season

As you would expect for a team that has been so dominant, there are many standout individuals in Coventry’s team.

Carl Rushworth has been a superb addition since his summer arrival, with Bobby Thomas and Liam Kitching a formidable partnership in defence.

Victor Torp has stepped up in Jack Rudoni’s absence, whilst Haji Wright and Brandon Thomas-Asante are scoring goals for fun.

In truth, we could go through the whole team, but one player who also warrants special praise is Milan van Ewijk.

When Coventry signed Kaine Kesler-Hayden in the summer, it felt inevitable that van Ewijk would move on, as he had been linked with a host of clubs, and it appeared the Championship side were acting quickly to get a replacement in before his exit.

Instead, despite plenty of speculation, van Ewijk stayed put, as a £10m switch to Wolfsburg wasn’t finalised, leaving Lampard with two great options at right-back.

To his credit, van Ewijk didn’t let this transfer talk distract him, and, if anything, the arrival of Kesler-Hayden has forced the Dutchman to maintain his high standards on a consistent basis.

The fast, attacking football that Lampard encourages is ideally suited to van Ewijk’s game, with the manager giving him the license to get forward at every opportunity.

With his pace, dribbling ability and engine, the 25-year-old is becoming an important part of the way Coventry attack, and a return of five assists in 12 games is mightily impressive for a full-back.

As well as that, van Ewijk boasts a terrific long throw, something which Watford found out to their cost last time out, which gives Coventry another weapon to hurt their opponents with.

Given his prowess going forward, you sometimes overlook how reliable the ex-Heerenveen man is defensively, but he is a key part of a back four that has conceded just nine goals in 12 games, so he doesn’t let the team down on that side of things either.

Milan van Ewijk’s value at Coventry City will continue to rise

Coventry are reaping the benefits from keeping van Ewijk on the pitch, and that is likely to be reflected in his transfer value.

The Midlands outfit had been looking for £15m for van Ewijk in the summer, but they eventually compromised on a fee of just over £10m from Wolfsburg before that fell through.

Now, van Ewijk’s price is continuing to rise on a weekly basis with his performances on the pitch.

Of course, with his contract expiring in 2027, Coventry will be under pressure to sell next summer if fresh terms can’t be agreed, but that is a long way away right now.

The player is clearly loving his time at the club, and with the possibility of Premier League football, it would be no surprise if van Ewijk is keen to stay at Coventry for the long-term.

Therefore, any prospective buyers may regret missing out on securing a hugely talented right-back for around £10-15m in the summer, the sort of numbers that make him a bargain for a top-flight side.

But, their loss has been Coventry’s gain, with van Ewijk emerging as a key player for Lampard as they push for promotion.