Coventry City view given as Birmingham City close in on 'big risk' transfer hijack | OneFootball

Coventry City fan pundit Chris is confident the club won't regret missing out on Abdoulie Manneh, with the Mjallby winger expected to join Birmingham.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Coventry City should not regret missing out on Mjallby’s Abdoulie Manneh, with the winger expected to sign for Birmingham City.

It had been reported that the Sky Blues were in for the attacker, who was a key part of the Mjallby side that shocked Swedish football to win the title last season.

His performances caught the eye of Coventry, but it is Midlands rivals Birmingham who are now in pole position to sign the Gambian.

Coventry City have backed Frank Lampard early on in the January window

However, Coventry have still been very active in the market, as they have completed deals for Yang Min-hyuk and Romain Esse to join on loan from Spurs and Crystal Palace respectively.

That will have been a major boost for Lampard, as despite Coventry’s brilliant campaign so far, they are lacking depth, and it’s clear that bringing in attacking reinforcements was a priority.

Obviously, Manneh would’ve been a different signing in the sense that he would be a permanent addition, and, at 21, he could have flourished into a key figure for the Sky Blues over the long-term.

Yet, when asked by FLW about whether this was a missed opportunity for the club, FLW' Coventry fan pundit Chris was adamant that they won’t regret not signing Manneh, as he praised the recruitment team for the business they have done.

“In all honesty, I’m not particularly bothered about us not signing Manneh. I’d completely forgotten all about him, his name had come completely out of the blue, nobody had heard of him, no other teams were linked with him.

“Fair play to Birmingham for signing a player we were briefly linked with. I’m sure that will be something for their fans to gloat over for some reason! He had a good season in Sweden, scoring seven goals and getting four assists - and they play a shorter season over there.

“But I think our business in this window already eclipses signing a player that literally no team had an interest in whatsoever.

“I’m over the moon with the signing of Esse, who has looked good in his first appearance for us in the FA Cup. Also, Yang Min-hyuk looked good against Stoke, so it would have been nice to sign a player on a permanent basis, but it’s a big risk to sign a random Gambian winger from the Swedish league that had not been mentioned before in English football - nobody had any idea who he was.

“We don’t even know if the link was substantial, but I’m much happier that we’ve got two players in on loan who know the league, have experienced the league, and, in the case of Esse, who has performed very well in the Championship for Millwall over a couple of seasons.”

Coventry City are right to look for short-term signings to reach the Premier League

You would expect Birmingham fans to be excited by Manneh’s likely arrival, as he was a key player in what was a remarkable story with Mjallby, and he is ready to take that next step in his career.

So, it will be interesting to see how his career develops, and Blues will have high hopes for him in the future.

However, for Coventry, you can understand why their fans wouldn’t be too bothered. The reality is that promotion is the only objective this season, and the January window is all about strengthening the squad to ensure Lampard’s side go up.

On that front, it makes sense to bring in Yang Min-hyuk and Esse, as they have both shown their quality in the Championship, and they will be able to make an impact over the coming months without needing to settle in.

Then, providing Coventry do go up, the financial situation will improve drastically, and they will be in the market for a completely different calibre of player.

So, Manneh to Birmingham is probably ideal for all parties right now, and Coventry will feel they have done more than enough to help Lampard, with potentially more new signings also on the way.