Exclusive: Huge Birmingham City, Abdoulie Manneh transfer twist emerges | OneFootball

A significant sudden twist has emerged in Abdoulie Manneh's proposed move from Mjallby to Birmingham City, Football League World understands

Birmingham City's ambitious owners, Knighthead Capital Management, will be intending on flexing their financial muscles once again during this month's mid-season transfer window in an effort to bolster Chris Davies' squad and provide the required boost for a fresh promotion push in the latter stages of the campaign following a mixed return to the Championship

A second successive summer of lavish, eye-catching spending, including the arrivals of Marvin Ducksch, Kyogo Furuhashi and Demarai Gray to name but a few, saw Birmingham widely-tipped to contend for consecutive promotions from League One to the Premier League in the wake of last term's dominant title-winning third-tier success.

Internal and external expectations have been high, but Birmingham are yet to deliver. Davies' side have struggled for consistency and are positioned in 14th place after 26 games, yet are just seven points shy of the play-offs and will hope to boost their ambitions of executing a charge by completing a host of deals throughout the remainder of the month.

It's poised to be a hectic month in terms of both incomings and outgoings for Blues, who are looking to complete the signing of Girona midfielder Jhon Solis on an initial loan deal, while Kai Wagner has made an impressive start to his career with the promotion hopefuls after arriving from Philadelphia Union.

A head-turning move has also been lined up for Abdoulie Manneh, but a sudden twist in the winger's proposed transfer can now be revealed in what will represent a significant blow at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

Huge Abdoulie Manneh, Birmingham City transfer twist emerges

Football League World can now exclusively reveal that Birmingham's move for Manneh has suddenly broken down, with the highly-rated winger having been scheduled to fly in for a medical yesterday to complete his switch to the Second City from Swedish top-flight outfit Mjallby.

For the time being, it remains unclear whether the breakdown involves Manneh himself, his club or the fee involved, which is also unknown but will not have been cheap business for Blues after the proposed deal was first revealed on sister title GIVEMESPORT.

Ultimately, though, FLW understands that an eleventh-hour hitch has caused problems and there is now a considerable stalemate, which means that, unless a significant and swift turnaround can be struck, the transfer for the 21-year-old is off the table and will not be revisited.

This will leave Birmingham to pursue other targets instead, with director of football Craig Gardner believed to be unwilling to delay any deals as he strives to oversee a productive mid-season shopping spree.

The one-cap Gambia international wide-man, who marked his senior debut with an impressive hattrick in a 7-0 demolition of the Seychelles back in November, emerged as one of the most promising prospects from the Allsvenkan production line during the 2025 campaign, with his haul of seven goals and three assists from 28 appearances luring Birmingham to make a move for his signature.

However, it now looks as though a deal for Manneh has fallen through, and Birmingham will lick their wounds before setting their sights on alternative options.

Lewis Koumas update emerges amid Birmingham City, Abdoulie Manneh transfer twist

The breakdown of Manneh's move to Birmingham is set to have an impact on the immediate future of on-loan Liverpool winger Lewis Koumas, who had been poised to return early to Anfield following a mixed spell with Blues to date.

FLW understands that the latest update could now delay the termination of Koumas' loan deal, as Davies will not want to leave himself short ahead of Blues' upcoming triple-header against Swansea City, Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke.

Exactly who Birmingham will target as a late replacement for Manneh is something of a mystery, but the club's key decision-makers will know they need to get to work quickly.