Coventry City sent Miguel Brau out on loan in the summer to get more football, and there are finally some signs that may be starting to happen.
The left-back has barely featured for Académico de Viseu since arriving in Portugal. His latest appearance was much more encouraging, though.
Brau played the entire second half of Saturday’s 2-0 win over Estrela da Amadora. That was easily his longest outing since leaving Coventry.
Brau starting to get his chance
The Spaniard is now “winning space” in manager Bruno Pinheiro’s plans.
The Coventry loanee replaced Gustavo Costa at half-time against Estrela. Costa had already been booked, while Académico were 2-0 ahead. Brau then helped them see out the victory without conceding.
His defensive numbers were pretty good for just 45 minutes on the pitch. He made six defensive contributions, including two interceptions and two clearances.
The 24-year-old also won his only tackle and wasn’t dribbled past. He won three of his four ground duels and recovered possession four times.
Anyway, getting 45 minutes is progress in itself given how little he had played before that.
| Every Coventry City signing 26/27 | Previous Club | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Caleb Yirenkyi | Nordsjælland | £23m |
| Carl Rushworth | Brighton & Hove Albion | £22m |
| Sidiki Chérif | Fenerbahçe | £21m |
| Loum Tchaouna | Burnley | £20m |
| Aurèle Amenda | Eintracht Frankfurt | £15.4m |
| Yann Gboho | Toulouse | £10.3m |
| Taiwo Awoniyi | Nottingham Forest | £9m |
| Gustavo Hamer | Sheffield United | £6m |
| Frank Onyeka | Brentford | £6m |
| Ethan Pinnock | Brentford | £5.9m |
| Daniel Bentley | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Free |
| Stephen Mfuni | Manchester City | Loan |
Still very limited minutes for Coventry loanee
O Jogo’s suggestion that Brau is starting to gain some ground needs a bit of context. The defender has made only two appearances since moving to Portugal.
His first came against Gil Vicente on September 6, when he played the final 16 minutes of a 1-0 victory. He then remained on the bench for the 2-1 win over Vitória. That means Brau has played just 61 minutes for Académico so far.
Coventry sent him to Portugal after he made 11 appearances under Frank Lampard last season. He had played a small part in their promotion to the Premier League.
The idea behind a loan was obviously to give him more opportunities than he was likely to get at Coventry this season. So far, that hasn’t really happened.
Saturday was at least a decent step in the right direction. Brau got a full half, performed well defensively and now has the Portuguese press saying he’s starting to work his way into the manager’s thinking.
