Coventry City signed a number of first-team players in the summer transfer window, with a number of them Championship ready. Jack Rudoni and Brandon Thomas-Asante had impressed elsewhere, while Ephron Mason-Clark had clearly outgrown League One by the time he hooked up with the Sky Blues.

Norman Bassette and Oliver Dovin were both interesting additions from the continent, young talents identified and recruited who could yet prove to be real assets for the club in the years to come. The wildcard of the entire summer transfer window, however, could yet prove to have been the very first piece of business City concluded.

Way back in mid-June, the club confirmed the acquisition of winger Raphael Rodrigues Borges from Macarthur FC in Australia. For the 21-year-old, it involved a life-changing move and, undoubtedly, something of a culture shock. As we enter 2025, City supporters have seen precious little of Raphael after his first six months at the club were ravaged by injuries, only really getting a glimpse in the FA Cup success over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.

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With any luck, those disappointing days are behind him and, working under Frank Lampard, the Dutch-born wideman is edging ever closer to be able to make an impact in the Sky Blues first team. There remains work to be done, by Lampard's own admission - the Championship can prove to be a rather steep learning curve for those not accustomed to the rough and tumble.

Still, while tempering expectations, you couldn't mistake an enthusiasm in Lampard's character as he discussed what the immediate future holds for Raphael, who completed another hour in the under 21s' 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in the week, winning a penalty and helping to set up one of the goals in the process.

"He did," Lampard replied, confirming the winger came through his outing without any issues. "Rapha is really interesting. He's a good player to watch in training. He came over here as a bit of a project. There are high hopes for him, he's a talented boy and you can see that. As I've come in, he's coming off the back of a really broken first period at the club. It's a real shame - pre-season, injury, secondary injury.

"The big thing for Rapha is to get him robust, fit and working on his endurance work to handle this league as a young lad. Last week we've had some minutes in the 21s, last week he makes his home debut in the first team, this week more minutes in the 21s. That's the work he needs at this current moment. Hopefully we'll see the benefit of that work."

What, then, can Raphael aspire to achieve this season? While patience is required from supporters but also from the player himself, as he looks to break into a first-team environment which already possesses the likes of Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and - albeit currently injured - pair Mason-Clark and Haji Wright, Lampard sees no reason why he can't make an impact in the second half of this season and then hit the ground running in pre-season.

"Some of that will be up to him in what he shows, and how quickly he can get to that," Lampard added. "I guess it's a bit of an unknown, but I feel that it's my job to know what it takes to play in this league and come through the demands of Championship football. He's a lad who hasn't played much football but is definitely shown us enough that, for himself to get in this position, it's deserved. He's training well.

"He'll have to be a bit patient, because that's the period he is in. He's got a good confidence about him. He's got a good look in his eye, Rapha, where he believes in himself as a player. I mean that in a good way, he wants to do well and it's refreshing attitude. He's got talent, for sure, but we need to get the other bits right, around it, so that he can handle this league."

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