Coventry City manager Frank Lampard has expressed his delight at the arrival of Ghana international midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi, backing the youngster to develop into an important player for the club.

Yirenkyi made an immediate impression on his Coventry debut, providing an assist as the Sky Blues defeated AS Monaco 2-0 in a pre-season encounter.

The 20-year-old completed his move to Coventry from Danish club FC Nordsjaelland for a reported club-record fee of $30 million, following an impressive 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with Ghana.

Lampard believes Coventry won the race for Yirenkyi because of the club’s vision for his development and says there is strong belief in the midfielder’s ability.

“We’ve got a belief in Caleb here. He’s a player that we’re happy to have brought to the club because he was well wanted by many clubs probably around Europe. We sold the project to him,” Lampard said to the club media.

“He’s a good, talented player; he’s young. This boy, we believe, is going to really build his career, so [he’s] a big addition to the club. I think we saw signs of that; hopefully we see a lot more,” he added.

Yirenkyi’s impressive first outing has further raised expectations ahead of the new campaign, with Coventry hoping the Ghanaian can quickly adapt to English football and become a key figure in Lampard’s squad.

The midfielder is expected to be involved when Coventry City face Arsenal on Friday night in their Premier League opener, potentially giving him his first competitive appearance for the club.