3 Abdoulie Manneh alternatives Birmingham City should try sign ASAP after shock twist | OneFootball

FLW have looked at three alternatives to the Gambian winger as we understand a deal for his services has faltered

Birmingham City's aims of bolstering their current squad under Chris Davies have taken a hit at the start of this week, with Football League World exclusively revealing a fresh twist in the deal which could have brought Mjallby AIF's Abdoulie Manneh to the West Midlands.

At present, a deal for the one-time Gambian international appears to be dead in the water, just a day after sister title, GiveMeSport, reported that the previous Coventry City and Stoke City target, was booked in for a medical at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on Monday.

The deal was expected to bring a swift end to Lewis Koumas' current stint on loan from Liverpool, too. However, with Blues preparing for a three-game week against Swansea City, Sheffield Wednesday and the Potters, Davies is expected to retain the 19-year-old's services whilst a replacement can be sourced to address a key area of his squad, with Demarai Gray currently sidelined until next month with a calf strain.

Manneh's addition would have offered Blues plenty of pace and power on the left wing, having scored seven times in Mjallby's underdog Allsvenskan title-winning campaign last year.

However, Birmingham will now have to map out a route to an alternative option, and with that being said, FLW have identified three of those who could fall onto the radar of Davies and director of football, Craig Gardner.

Tom Watson

The first of three alternatives comes in the form of last season's Championship play-off final hero for Sunderland, Tom Watson.

The 19-year-old is currently on the books of Brighton and Hove Albion after agreeing a £10m switch from the Stadium of Light weeks before the Black Cats' Wembley success. However, it appears that, whilst he is likely to be in Fabian Hurzeler's long-term plans at the AMEX Stadium, the England Under-21 international's development could benefit from a return to the second tier for the coming months.

Albion's German boss previously cited a lack of gametime as being down to an "adaptation" process, whilst representatives from Derby County, Hull City and Preston North End watched the Easington-born winger provide a hat-trick of assists in a 6-0 rout over Barnsley in the EFL Cup third round on September 23rd.

Watson's future potential was further showcased amid shock links to Portuguese giants, Porto, in the autumn too, although some Blues fans may want a player with extensive Championship experience to be recruited after Koumas' own struggles in terms of gametime and making a strong impact when called upon.

However, it is also clear that Birmingham and Brighton have a recent history in terms of transfer dealings, with James Beadle currently Davies' number one, whilst former loanee, Eiran Cashin and current midfield outcast, Marc Leonard, have all joined on permanent or temporary stints from the Sussex club, which could be a key advantage in this potential move.

Reyes Cleary

Another option would be to potentially lure Reyes Cleary back to his home city, with the 21-year-old certainly making a name for himself with Barnsley in League One.

Cleary ended his prior association with local rivals, West Brom, in the summer by moving to Oakwell on an initial three-year contract, and he has certainly been a bright spot in an otherwise frustrating season for Conor Hourihane's side.

Across his first 25 appearances for the Tykes, the versatile figure - who has predominantly featured on the left wing - has mustered a total of five goals and nine assists across all competitions, with the standout of those being a remarkable 70-yard strike away to Bradford City on October 18th.

The England youth international was also an impressive performer in the Reds' eventual 4-1 defeat to Liverpool in the FA Cup third round, eventually being named as the Player of the Match by Ally McCoist on TNT Sports.

Ironically, the wide man has already been linked with a move to Blackburn Rovers, although Valerien Ismael's side have seen a £1m bid turned down, with the South Yorkshire side reportedly commanding £5m for his services.

As we have seen, though, this is a fee which Blues could afford having parted with two eight-figure sums to sign Jay Stansfield and Kyogo Furuhashi respectively, and Cleary is also the type of player whose potential and ability could grow alongside that of the club.

Yang Hyun-Jun

With Blues falling short in their aims of landing Manneh, they could potentially revisit a move for Celtic winger, Yang Hyun-Jun.

As has been the case with some of Davies' current squad, Birmingham pushed hard in an attempt to sign the South Korean in the summer, before seeing a £3m deal collapse on Deadline Day.

However, in the lead-up to the current window, it was widely reported that the Second City club had renewed their interest in the versatile 23-year-old, whilst also facing competition from Norwich City and Preston North End.

Such claims have been backed up early in the transfer window by Scottish publication, the Herald, as Martin O'Neill looks to shuffle his pack in the transfer window after taking interim charge of the Hoops for a second time this season.

Despite it being an extremely chaotic campaign at Parkhead, Yang has still performed reasonably when called upon, scoring five times across all competitions, including strikes in back-to-back games against Rangers and Dundee United at the turn of 2026.