Coventry City handed transfer boost - Stoke City are also interested in £3.6m deal | OneFootball

Abdoulie Manneh is of interest to both Championship promotion hopefuls

Coventry City are reportedly back in the driving seat when it comes to striking a deal with Swedish champions, Mjallby AIF, for the services of Gambian forward, Abdoulie Manneh.

According to an update from Swedish outlet, Fotboll Direkt, the Sky Blues have edged ahead of their Championship rivals, Stoke City, in the race for the Gambian's signature ahead of the upcoming January transfer window, with the Potters emerging as potential competitors in this transfer battle after interest from their Midlands rivals initially came to the fore.

This isn't the only battle ongoing between Frank Lampard's league-leading side and their former boss, Mark Robins, at present, with the CV6 outfit extending their lead at the top of the second tier table to five points on Saturday afternoon with a dramatic victory at the Bet365 Stadium, courtesy of Ephron Mason-Clark's acrobatic strike which left Viktor Johansson with no chance.

As such, Stoke dropped out of the automatic promotion places heading into the current, and final, international break of 2025 with Middlesbrough leapfrogging the Reds after their 2-1 success against Birmingham City at the Riverside Stadium.

Unsurprisingly, Coventry and Stoke have been on the receiving end of mass praise from supporters and pundits thus far for differing reasons, with the Sky Blues posting a remarkable tally of 40 goals in just 15 games, whilst Robins' side have built their success on defensive robustness.

Both sides are clearly in the market for attacking reinforcements, although the latest set of developments involving Manneh will certainly bring about mixed feelings.

Coventry City edge ahead of Stoke City in transfer battle for Mjallby AIF forward Abdoulie Manneh

Indeed, it was first reported last Tuesday that Coventry were reportedly in negotiations with the Allsvenskan champions regarding the potential for Manneh to move to English football for the first time after posting seven goals during his current employers' underdog title-winning campaign.

That came after prior reports that the Gambian had emerged onto Portsmouth's radar in the summer, and that of Premier League clubs such as Wolverhampton Wanderers, Brighton and Hove Albion, AFC Bournemouth and Burnley.

It was then claimed by Fotboll Direkt that negotiations had paused, which allowed Stoke to express their interest in signing the 21-year-old, before revealing they plan to make contact with Mjallby, who are looking for a deal in the region of £3.6m.

However, in a fresh update regarding this ongoing transfer battle, the same publication has since reported that Coventry could soon outmuscle their divisional rivals in attempting to lure the versatile figure to the CBS, with Lampard's side said to be the club who Manneh and Mjallby are interested in opening talks with.

Predominantly a left-sided winger, Manneh has made 58 appearances for his current side since joining from Gambian outfit, Wallidan, in the summer of 2024, scoring 12 times and posting a further four assists.

He has also made an impression for his home country too, scoring a hat-trick and registering two more assists on his Gambian debut, which came in a 7-0 mauling of Seychelles.

Coventry City could bolster an already-impressive attack with Abdoulie Manneh move

Despite it looking as though Coventry are certainties to end a 25-year exile from the Premier League, it must be said that Lampard doesn't have the biggest squad in the world at his disposal.

Therefore, moving for a versatile player such as Manneh would only add sufficient depth as well as quality, two attributes required for promotion-chasing sides to succeed across the gruelling winter period.

Given the sides who have previously, or are currently credited with interest, City could land themselves a major transfer coup, and one who could add more goals to the ranks on top of the likes of Mason-Clark, Brandon Thomas-Asante and Haji Wright.