Coventry City in talks over deal for 7-goal forward - Portsmouth were previously linked | OneFootball

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

Championship leaders Coventry City have already begun planning for the January transfer window, and are reportedly in negotiations with Swedish champions, Mjallby, over a deal for their star forward, Abdoulie Manneh.

That is according to Swedish sports outlet, Expressen, who outlined the Sky Blues' current predicament in said negotiations, as they attempt to lure the 21-year-old to the CBS Arena in order to bolster their promotion bid under Frank Lampard.

The ex-Chelsea and England midfielder and his side had enjoyed a blistering and record-breaking start to the Championship season, before coming unstuck against Wrexham in front of the Sky Sports cameras last Friday, with a Kieffer Moore hat-trick enough to see City suffer their first league defeat of the campaign.

Nonetheless, it is hard to ignore the attacking and creative quality which oozes through Lampard's squad at present, having scored a remarkable tally of 36 goals in just 13 Championship outings thus far, which, unsurprisingly, is the highest tally within the top four divisions of English football by some distance.

The Sky Blues can certainly be grateful to the individual services of Brandon Thomas-Asante and USMNT international, Haji Wright, on this particular front, with the attacking duo responsible for 17 of those strikes.

And, with the winter window presenting Lampard with yet another opportunity to tweak his ranks ahead of a gruelling second-half of the season, Manneh could be a welcome addition as City look to end what would be a 25-year wait for Premier League football.

As previously mentioned, it was Expressen who revealed that the West Midlands club had entered negotiations with Mjallby over what could become a club-record sale for the Swedish outfit, who were recently crowned Allsvenskan champions for the first time in their history, winning the division by a remarkable 13 points.

The report outlines that there is hope that a deal can be concluded within a matter of weeks, allowing the 21-year-old to potentially become an official member of the Sky Blues' ranks on January 1st, when the EFL winter transfer window opens for business.

City aren't the only club on English shores who have been monitoring the Gambian forward though, as he netted seven goals and posted three assists across 27 league appearances for Mjallby across their title-winning campaign.

Indeed, it was reported in the summer that divisional rivals, Portsmouth, were eyeing a swoop for the winger, before it was claimed by Alan Nixon in September that an unnamed Championship side had agreed a deal, according to the player's agent after a move to Greek Super League side, Olympiacos, fell through.

Prior to said developments, Manneh also emerged on the radar of a handful of current Premier League sides, with all of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Brighton and Hove Albion, AFC Bournemouth and Burnley said to be tracking his progress prior to the conclusion of last season.

Since joining Mjallby in the summer of 2024 after featuring for Gambian side, Wallidan, the predominantly left-sided winger has scored 11 times and registered a further seven assists in just 58 appearances for the newly-crowned champions.

Coventry City could land major transfer coup with Mjallby, Abdoulie Manneh agreement

In recent times, leagues such as the Allsvenskan have become a hotbed for emerging prospects, which, indeed, has seen the likes of Oliver Dovin move to English football, albeit the Coventry goalkeeper is still recovering from an ACL rupture sustained in March.

Given his reputation, there is a sense that the Sky Blues could be landing yet another significant transfer coup with the potential signing of Manneh, who still has many years of growth in him at just 21.

It remains to be seen how well he could aclimatise to the English game, especially the unrelenting nature of the Championship, should he move to CV6, but it is a deal which all parties look set to be satisfied with at this moment in time.