Coventry are set to break their transfer record for the fourth time in this window after agreeing a £23m fee with Danish side Nordsjaelland for the Ghana midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi.
The deal for Yirenkyi, who impressed during the Black Stars’ World Cup campaign and scored the winning goal against Panama in the group stage, is set to be a record for the Danish top flight and comes after Coventry have already spent almost £60m on the winger Loum Tchaouna, the defender Aurèle Amenda and the goalkeeper Carl Rushworth. Yirenkyi, who was named young player of the year in the Danish league last season, will travel to Coventry in the coming hours to complete his move.
The 20-year-old is a product of the Right to Dream academy in Ghana and has been with Nordsjaelland since 2024. It is understood that the Coventry manager, Frank Lampard, has spoken to his former Chelsea teammate Michael Essien, who is now working as a coach at Nordsjaelland, about what Yirenkyi could bring to his newly promoted side. Brighton and Everton have also been linked with him in the past.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace are closing in on the signing of the USA youth international Zavier Gozo as their new manager, Pierre Sage, attempts to strengthen his squad ahead of the new season.
Gozo, a 19-year-old who plays for Real Salt Lake in MLS and has represented the USA at various youth levels up to under-23, is expected to complete an £11m move to south London after he was left out of his side’s game on Tuesday night owing to an “excused absence”.
It is understood Palace have tracked Gozo’s progress at Real Salt Lake – who are part-owned by David Blitzer, the American who is one of Palace’s co-owners – for some time and view him as a potential successor to Daniel Muñoz at right wing-back. Palace need cover after Nathaniel Clyne’s departure at the end of his contract and selling Danny Imray to Wrexham for a fee that is thought to have been in the region of £5m last week.
Zavier Gozo is seen as a potential successor to Daniel Muñoz at Selhurst Park. Photograph: Anne-Marie Sorvin/USA Today SportsSage is also hoping to bring in several more players before the end of the transfer window as Palace prepare to juggle their Premier League challenge with a Europa League campaign, with a particular focus on replacing Maxence Lacroix after the France defender’s departure to Chelsea. Axel Disasi, who spent the second half of last season on loan at West Ham, is one option, while Palace have also been in talks with Brest over the teenage centre-back Raphaël Le Guen. Negotiations with Augsburg – the German club where Blitzer also owns a stake – over the French defender Chrislain Matsima broke down last week.
Palace are also thought to be targeting another forward and midfielder but are determined not to sell any of their leading players, including Adam Wharton, who has interest from Chelsea. The former Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu has been training with Palace in pre-season as he aims to earn a move after leaving Ajax, with his fellow Japan international Daichi Kamada signing a one-year contract extension last month.
Palace are also expected to offer Ismaïla Sarr a new deal to ward off interest from Fenerbahce in the Senegal forward, who scored 21 goals last season. Club Brugge have had an initial offer for Romain Esse rejected but the Belgian side are expected to return with an improved bid for the England Under-21 forward.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are close to agreeing a £16.3m deal to sign the defender Pep Chavarría from Rayo Vallecano. The 28-year-old, who was part of the team that reached last season’s Conference League final, is a left-sided defender and will provide competition for Jorrel Hato following the departure of Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid.
Manchester United are selling Radek Vitek to Middlesbrough in a deal worth up to £14m as his fellow goalkeeper Altay Bayindir prepares to join Celta Vigo on loan.
Michael Carrick’s side are in the process of shaping their squad for the new season, with their No 1, Senne Lammens, joined by the summer signing Karl Darlow in a new-look goalkeeping department. Vitek is on the verge of joining Boro, the defeated Championship playoff finalists, following an impressive season with Bristol City.
