Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday in transfer battle for 3-goal French star | OneFootball

Jeremy Livolant has reportedly emerged on the transfer radar of both Championship clubs

Championship rivals Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday are among a cluster of sides monitoring the situation of Casa Pia winger, Jeremy Livolant.

That is according to a recent report from Portuguese outlet, A Bola, with the Frenchman making a serious impression with his early-season performance levels at the Estádio Municipal de Rio Maior.

Meanwhile, the two aforementioned sides competing in England's second tier couldn't have had much more contrasting starts to the campaign both on and off the pitch due to an array of well-documented factors, largely at Hillsborough too.

The Potters' recent stagnation after being an established Premier League club for a 10-year period has been well-documented, with the club yet to finish in the top half of the Championship ever since being relegated back into the EFL seven years ago.

That is set to change, though, with Stoke making an encouraging start to life in what is Mark Robins' first full season in charge at the Bet365 Stadium after taking over from Narcis Pelach at the turn of the year, with the vastly-experienced boss looking to emulate and better his prior achievements at divisional rivals, Coventry City.

Meanwhile, the situation in the Steel City is much more complex, with Wednesday working under a barrage of sanctions due to Dejphon Chansiri's controversial running of the club, which has led to fan protests and boycotts, whilst transfer and registration embargoes and restrictions have given Henrik Pedersen such limited resources to work with as he attempts to stave off relegation against all odds.

Yet, despite the main focus being on yet another round of delayed wage payments and, subsequently, the threat of a points deduction or administration, the Owls are among a handful of sides, like Stoke, interested in a potential move for the 27-year-old.

Livolant has been on Casa Pia's books for the past year, joining from fallen French giants Bordeaux at a time wheN his former employers had filed for bankruptcy.

A previous €1.2m buy at the Stade Atlantique, the attacker has been highly-rated for quite some time after also progressing through the youth ranks at Guingamp before making it into the first-team fold.

Despite only making one appearance in Ligue 1, Livolant's record in Ligue 2 for both Guingamp and Bordeaux of 25 goals and 26 assists eventually led to a major top-flight breakthrough with Casa Pia, where he has emerged as one of their key performers.

Last season, he posted a tally of four goals and five assists in 26 Liga Portugal outings as his side finished ninth, before starting this season in remarkable form with three goals and as many assists in eight games, with all three goals coming in the final three outings ahead of the October international break against Famalicao, Moreirense and Estoril.

As such, A Bola state that whilst Casa Pia maintain the stance that Livolant is not for sale ahead of the upcoming January transfer window, a report has outlined that Stoke and Sheffield Wednesday are among a handful of sides who have tracked the forward's progress and consistent performances.

It also states that Catanzaro of Italy's Serie B and Vasco De Gama of the Brazilian Serie A are also interested parties, as well as clubs in Livolant's native France, who he represented 16 times across varying age groups at youth level.

Stoke City would likely have a better chance of pulling off Jeremy Livolant transfer over Sheffield Wednesday

Of course, it remains to be seen if the aforementioned developments lead to a concrete transfer bid. However, it is fair to say that Stoke would be the likeliest of the two Championship sides to land Livolant's signature, such is the crisis that Wednesday find themselves in.

Robins is currently getting the best out of Dutch winger, Million Manhoef in a right-wing role, with the Dutchman netting his third goal in nine league games against Blackburn Rovers last time out. However, he too could generate potential transfer discourse in the coming weeks and months having previously caught the eye of Celtic.

Undoubtedly, a player of Livolant's quality would be a major benefit to Pedersen as Wednesday look to scrap for every precious point in a relegation battle, with the Dane only able to call upon a handful of senior players.

However, this would have to be achieved on a free transfer or a loan in which no fee is paid, and that is even before the deal is approved by the EFL's Club Financial Reporting Unit (CRFU) after recently being hit with yet another restriction embargo.