Mjallby AIF, a Swedish Allsvenskan side, has released an update on the situation concerning their prized asset and star forward, Abdoulie Manneh, who was the subject of rejected transfer interest from Birmingham City and Coventry City during the winter transfer window.

Birmingham and the Sky Blues have been two of the most talked-about sides in this season’s Championship, with both West Midlands clubs strongly focused on the Premier League for the remainder of the season.

At the moment, Coventry are in a stronger position to end their 25-year absence from English football’s top flight, with Frank Lampard’s side overcoming a recent alarming dip in results and performance levels by defeating second-placed Middlesbrough on Monday night, thanks largely to Haji Wright’s stellar performance and hat-trick.

Meanwhile, Blues are in a dramatic and ever-changing multi-club dogfight for at least one of the four play-off spots available at the end of the season, with Chris Davies’ side currently enjoying a six-game unbeaten run in the league, which was sparked by a statement 3-2 victory over the Sky Blues at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park on January 4th.

Last season’s League One winners are presently 11th, with 46 points from 32 games played, two points behind Derby County in sixth place.

It was widely known that both Davies and Lampard had courted Manneh in the run-up to and throughout the winter window, with the Gambian international turning in great performances and figures for the Swedish champions, as well as being a highly-rated prospect.

However, neither team was able to finalize a deal for one reason or another, with Manneh’s current employers expressing their understanding of the situation ahead of their return to competitive play this weekend.

Mjallby AIF’s Abdoulie Manneh gets a fresh update after failed transfers to Birmingham City and Coventry City.

After attracting interest from Premier League clubs such as Wolves, Burnley, AFC Bournemouth, and Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer, Manneh was connected with a move to the CBS Arena in November, as Coventry sat nicely at the top of the Championship table.

It was believed that Mjallby were hoping to sign the seven-goal winger and four-time international for around £3.6 million, with Stoke City also reportedly interested.

In the early stages of the winter transfer window, it was reported that a deal had been reached between Birmingham and Mjallby on Sunday, January 11th, and that the 21-year-old would be present at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park to finalize the details.

That is, until Football League World exclusively disclosed less than 48 hours later that the agreement had been called off due to a standstill in talks, albeit the precise reasons for such events remained unclear.

Mjallby has now confirmed that Manneh returned to first-team training on Wednesday afternoon, with the club publishing a statement that includes Manneh’s opinions, as well as those of CEO Jacob Lennartsson, on a dramatic start to 2026.

As we previously stated, Manneh has been in contact with the club to discuss the possibilities of a transfer during the winter window. However, we have yet to find a solution that meets the needs of all parties, thus Manneh will continue to play for Mjällby AIF. The situation has not been ideal, for either the player or the club, but we believe we took the appropriate option given the current circumstances. The discussion has been positive throughout the process, and Abdoulie is now completely committed to contributing with solid performances for Mjällby AIF,” said Lennartsson.

Birmingham City and Coventry City will not have any regrets regarding Abdoulie Manneh’s transfer.

However, it is safe to conclude that neither Birmingham nor Coventry will have any significant transfer regrets as a result of the aforementioned circumstances.

Both Davies and Lampard were able to enhance their wide options, with the Blues loaning in Ibrahim Osman and acquiring Carlos Vicente, while the league leaders loaned Romain Esse from Crystal Palace and signed Jahnoah Markelo from FC Zurich.

Birmingham were also able to convert Patrick Roberts’ loan from Sunderland into a permanent signing on the final day of an extraordinarily busy and successful window at St. Andrew’s, as they look to perhaps rejoin City in the Premier League in the coming months.