Who is reported Portsmouth, Burnley and Wolves transfer target Abdoulie Manneh? And is he really worth £4.2m?

The Pompey transfer rumour mill churned out a left-field name over the weekend, with the Blues credited with an interest in Gambia international Abdoulie Manneh.

According to The Mirror, the Blues have been keeping tabs on the 20-year-old’s exploits for Swedish top-tier outfit Mjallby this season.

But they’re not the only ones showing an interest, with Brighton, Wolves, Bournemouth and Burnley among those also reportedly impressed with Manneh’s five goals and two assists from eight league games to date this term.

The Blues have been no stranger to dipping their toes in the foreign transfer market in recent transfer windows, with the likes of Nicolas Schmid, Abdoulaye Kamara and Elias Sorensen recruited from the continent last summer. Meanwhile, Australia has also helped the Blues bolster their ranks in the form of Kusini Yengi, Hayden Matthews, Jacob Farrell and Thomas Waddingham.

As similar deals appear in the pipelineagain this summer, we turned to highly-respected Swedish journalist Erik Hadzic for the lowdown on the latest player to be linked with a move to Fratton Park.

Here’s the questions were put to the fotbollskanalen.se correspondent and his responses as we tried to learn more about a player, who is making quite a name for himself in this season’s Allsvenskan.

Q Hi Erik, thanks for joining us. Firstly, I just wanted to know whether you could shed any light on the rumours that Pompey are interested in Abdoulie Manneh?

A Not particularly about the rumours from England. In general, though, he's playing for a club that's going really well, and they have quite a solid economy. But, obviously, a club from England would be able to offer the amount of money that Mjallby would ask for (transfer-wise).

Then again, I think it's about whether they would sell one or two of the star players this summer, and it may be the case that they want to keep Manneh and sell others.

That may be a question mark regarding this transfer speculation, I think.

Q. Okay, I know he's under contract until 2027. With that in mind, would Mjallby be reluctant to sell Manneh now, if the transfer rumours were true?

A I don't think they want to sell, but if the bid is good enough, they will.

Their record transfer is about one million euros, so they're still just a small club, and if someone would offer two million euros or more I think they would consider selling him.

But again, I think it depends on how many of the star players they will eventually sell in the summer. If they're willing to let him go as the first one, then maybe a transfer can be done.

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Q. A £4.2m figure has been mentioned over here. In your opinion, is that number wide of the mark?

A Yeah, maybe. You have to remember that he's done brilliantly this year, but it's only been a couple of months that he's been this good. He started off quite slowly during his first year in Mjallby, which was last season, obviously.

He got injured, then he was mainly a substitute during the large part of the season, before he eventually broke into the starting XI in the last five games OF last season.

So he's quite fresh, even in Allsvenskan as a star player. So over four million euros could be expensive.

I haven't seen that potential in him, but that's because he's been a star player in the Swedish league for quite a short time. So time will tell.

Q. Would a move to Pompey this summer or some of the other clubs mentioned be too soon into his career?

A. Maybe. I think staying at least one more whole season in Mjallby would do him a favour. On the other hand, the progression, the development he's had in the last months - it shows that he has big potential and maybe he could do it in another environment as well that's on a higher level.

‘But, yeah, in general, I think he would be better off staying at least two seasons in the Swedish league.

Q. I read on your website that he wants to play in one of Europe’s top five leagues. That shows he’s got plenty of ambition.

A Yeah, he's a really shy person, so I didn't get many quotes from him that day, to be honest. But, yeah, as you read in that article, in his homeland, he was considered the best, clearly the best offensive midfielder in Gambia.

‘So, yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if he broke into the to- five leagues, but that would be maybe more of the case that he would have to start in the German league or in the Championship rather than going directly to the Premier League, I think.

Abdoulie Manneh’s Mjallby record

Q. Finally, what type of player is Manneh?

A He can play anywhere in the offensive positions. He prefers playing as an attacking midfielder, but he can play on the left wing as well, and even as a striker.

But I doubt if he has the physical abilities to play as a lone striker in the Championship. Mainly left wing or attacking midfielder, that is his best position.

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