Coventry City to move further ahead of Stoke City in transfer battle - Thursday talks to take place | OneFootball

Abdoulie Manneh has been heavily linked with a January switch to the CBS Arena

Coventry City are set to begin talks with Swedish Allsvenskan champions, Mjallby AIF, on Thursday over the possibility of striking a deal for Gambian forward, Abdoulie Manneh.

The Sky Blues have been heavily linked with the 21-year-old since the start of the month, as they became one of the latest English sides to target a transfer raid for the exciting prospect, having previously emerged on the radar of Championship rivals and clubs in the Premier League.

Frank Lampard's side currently lead the second-tier after 15 games, having won 11 of those whilst scoring a staggering total of 40 goals in the process - a number way beyond that of any other side in the Premier League, the second-tier, League One or League Two.

The 47-year-old is fast approaching a whole calendar year in charge of the West Midlands side, having taken over a side languishing in the Championship's bottom-half following the dismissal of current Stoke City boss, Mark Robins, in early November 2024.

Ironically, City's latest success en route towards what supporters hope is a first spell in the Premier League for 25 years at the end of the campaign came against the aforementioned Robins and his Potters side at the Bet365 Stadium, just days after reports surfaced stating that the Staffordshire side were prepared to battle it out against the league leaders for Manneh's signature ahead of the upcoming transfer window.

However, after initially edging ahead in the race between themselves and another early-season pace-setter, Coventry could be set to land a major coup if Manneh was to join their plethora of dynamic and clinical options at the top end of the pitch.

Coventry City set to begin talks with Mjallby AIF over potential Abdoulie Manneh transfer agreement

As previously mentioned, Coventry were neither the first nor the last side on English soil to court Manneh's signature, with the exciting attacker netting seven goals as Mjallby won the Allsvenskan for the first time in their history, some 13 points ahead of Hammarby, who are set to lose manager Kim Hellberg to Middlesbrough.

Indeed, it was claimed in May that the winger's services were targeted by the likes of Wolverhampton Wanderers, AFC Bournemouth, Brighton and Hove Albion and Burnley, as well as Coventry's divisional rivals, Portsmouth.

Pompey's interest in Manneh was relayed in September after the four-time international also saw a move to Greek Super League giants, Olympiacos, fall through at the final hurdle.

Coventry's interest first came to light at the beginning of November, with it being claimed that Mjallby are only willing to accept what would be a club-record fee of approximately £3.6m for their prized asset, before Stoke also threw their hat into this particular transfer ring.

It was then reported last week by Swedish outlet, Fotboll Direkt, that Mjallby's preferred destination for the winger was the CBS Arena, with the same publication now revealing that the Sky Blues will begin talks with the Swedish champions as they look to make a swift conclusion to this long-standing transfer saga.

The aforementioned report states that Mjallby had paused negotiations in order to prioritise a coaching reshuffle, which Coventry were said to be made aware of, as well as the price tag required.

Abdoulie Manneh would be a welcome addition as Coventry City push for promotion

Coventry have no shortage of quality attacking options at present, with Brandon Thomas-Asante and Haji Wright scoring 18 goals between them thus far, as well as the likes of Ephron Mason-Clark, Jack Rudoni and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto all contributing to an electric start to the season.

Being a natural left-sided winger, Manneh would provide strong competition for Mason-Clark as a player that could provide plenty of havoc for opposition full-backs as a starter or substitute, depending on how well he potentially adjusts to the rigours of the Championship.

With it being a potential first move to England, Lampard and City supporters cannot, and are unlikely to, pin their hopes all on Manneh to be the final piece in an already impressive jigsaw. However, given the aforementioned list of clubs targeting the Gambian's services, this could be a major coup and one which, again, could make the Sky Blues plenty of profit further down the line.