Leyton Orient are set for a three-way showdown to sign out-of-contract defender Kieran Ngwenya this summer.
Richie Wellens’ side have fallen well below their initial pre-season expectations and are still in the middle of a relegation battle with four games of their season remaining.
Brewers And O’s Fancy Centre-Half
According to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, both Leyton Orient and Burton Albion are interested in signing Malawian defender Kieran Ngwenya in the summer on a free transfer.
The former Aberdeen man has been a regular for Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic since his arrival in 2024, and played 13 times in the league for the Pars so far this campaign.#
His contract at East End Park expires at the end of the season, which has created interest from both Orient and Albion, as well as Scottish Premiership side Motherwell, who sit as outside challengers for one of Scotland’s five European competition places.
Dunfermline currently occupy fourth in the second tier table, and have a seven-point cushion to fifth-placed Raith Rovers in the hunt for a promotion playoff position with four games of the season remaining.
Athletic also have the treat of visiting Hampden Park this month to play Falkirk in the Scottish Cup semi-final, having beaten Ngwenya’s last club in Aberdeen to reach the last four.
Rebuild Crucial For Orient
It has been a tough reality check for Leyton Orient this season, with arguably the efforts of Dom Ballard being the only thing keeping them alive in this relegation battle.
Richie Wellens has been trusted to keep the club afloat despite some periods when it looked like the 46-year-old may be sacked at Brisbane Road, and he now has a big summer ahead of him to try and get the O’s back up to return as top six challengers.
With veteran defenders like Daniel Happe and Jack Simpson both out of contract at the end of June, attention has already turned to what transfer business can be made, and Kieran Ngwenya is seemingly on their radar to replace one of those two.
Working under former Bolton Wanderers and Celtic man Neil Lennon at Dunfermline Athletic, the 23-year-old has been a solid part of their back three, which has seen them overachieve in the Scottish Cup and still have some chance of promotion to the Premiership next season.
Whether the Pars can entice the Malawi international to stay remains to be seen, but considering the finances of his potential suitors in Orient, Burton Albion and Motherwell, it may be hard for his current club to win him over.
For the League One pair, they face an uphill task of beating an established top-flight team in signing Ngwenya, but could be able to sway the centre-back with the prospect of more game time than the Lanarkshire side.
