Birmingham City transfer deal takes sudden twist amid 'stalemate' claim

Birmingham City are still a distance from where they want to be in the Championship this season and will hope to use the January transfer window as a chance to strengthen as Chris Davies’ side look to challenge for the play-offs.

The Second City outfit ran away with the third-tier title last season and set an EFL points record in the process, but their return to the Championship after a year away has not been as straight-forward as hoped despite a host of big-money summer arrivals.

Sat in 14th place with less than half a season to play, Blues are still just seven points shy of the top six and will know that all is still to play for in an extremely tight division.

Kai Wagner has already arrived from Philadelphia Union this month, while Girona midfielder Jhon Solis is a transfer target on an initial loan deal. A third ‘head-turning’ move had been lined up, with the latest twist in negotiations revealed.

Abdoulie Manneh to Birmingham transfer twist revealed - reports

According to reports by Football League World, Birmingham’s move for Abdoulie Manneh has ‘suddenly broken down’ and the winger is unlikely to sign from Swedish outfit Mjallby this window. The 21-year-old had flown in for a medical yesterday to complete his switch after a deal was ‘agreed’, with a potential transfer fee not known but believed to ‘not have been cheap business’.

Reporting continues that a ‘considerable stalemate’ has been reached, meaning that a move for the Gambian will be off the table if a resolution is not found quickly. It is not yet clear whether the breakdown involves Manneh himself, his club or the fee involved.

Blues director of football Craig Gardner is believed to be ‘unwilling to delay’ any mid-season deals as he hopes to have a ‘productive’ window, meaning he may quickly move onto other transfer targets following the eleventh-hour hitch in a move for Manneh. It remains to be seen whether a resolution can be found quickly enough for a deal to be struck.

‘We’re looking’ - Davies reveals transfer plans

Manager Davies previously expressed that Blues aim to be active in the January window, detailing some of the club’s transfer plans.

He said: “We’re looking at a few key positions going into January. We want to come out of that window stronger. This new Birmingham, as such, has had a look at the Championship now and seen where we sit in relation to the other teams and without giving too much away, I think there’s some key positions we need to look at and are looking at. There are a lot of conversations going on around how we can get better and come out stronger within that window.”

There is no doubt that Birmingham have money to spend in the remainder of this window and may ultimately use it elsewhere if a deal for Manneh is to be off. Davies and the club hierarchy will likely believe that they are just one or two signings away from a serious promotion push and if that is the case, they have proven themselves to be willing to spend money when necessary as they aim to become a force to be reckoned with.