Liverpool’s Salah Succession Plan: Diomande or Minteh?
Liverpool’s post-Mohamed Salah rebuild has zeroed in on one position and two very different solutions.
On one side, the blockbuster: RB Leipzig’s rising star Yan Diomande, the headline act in a summer dominated by talk of nine-figure transfer fees and World Cup cameos. On the other, Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh, a rapid, direct winger who would cost a fraction of the price but still fits the new Anfield blueprint.
That is the equation facing Liverpool’s hierarchy as they navigate life after Salah, the man who defined an era on Merseyside.
Diomande: the £112m statement
Liverpool’s priority is clear. Diomande sits at the top of their list and has done for some time.
Leipzig have set the bar high: a €130million (£112m) fee for the Ivory Coast international, whose reputation has ballooned on the back of his World Cup performances. Liverpool have already tested that resolve with a £90m offer, turned away without hesitation, yet they have not stepped back.
If anything, they have pushed harder.
Since Andoni Iraola walked through the door at Anfield, talks have intensified. Liverpool have laid out a detailed sporting vision to Diomande: how he fits, where he plays, the responsibilities he would carry. Central to that pitch is a simple, powerful idea – he would be the long-term successor to Salah, one of the faces of a new Liverpool era.
That message has landed. Sources close to the situation suggest Liverpool are increasingly confident the winger wants the move. The club are working the “player side” aggressively, trying to secure Diomande’s clear approval so he can tell Leipzig directly: he wants Anfield.
Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has echoed that picture, describing Liverpool’s work to get the “green light” from Diomande as excellent and highlighting a growing belief inside the club that a deal can be done.
The fee remains enormous. The intent is just as big.
Minteh: the £40m alternative
Yet Liverpool know markets can turn. Negotiations can stall. Demands can harden. So a contingency is already in place.
If the Diomande pursuit becomes impossible on Liverpool’s terms, Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh is expected to be “one of the first names” they move for, according to Caught Offside. The numbers tell their own story: Liverpool are understood to have earmarked around £40m for Minteh, a staggering £72m less than the Diomande price.
This is not just a budget pick, though. Minteh’s profile fits Iraola’s demands. He brings pace, aggression and a constant threat in one-v-one situations – qualities Liverpool’s wide players have long been judged on. In a system that thrives on vertical running and direct duels, the Brighton winger ticks obvious boxes.
He would not arrive with the same global spotlight as Diomande. He would not carry the same immediate expectations of replacing Salah. But he would give Liverpool a dynamic, mouldable option in a key position, at a fee that leaves room for strengthening elsewhere.
A defining call for the new era
The shape of Liverpool’s attack over the next five years may hinge on how this plays out.
Diomande represents the statement signing, the marquee move to usher in a post-Salah age with a bang. Minteh represents the shrewd alternative, a calculated gamble on upside and system fit at a far lower cost.
For now, Liverpool are all-in on Diomande, convinced that the player’s desire to join can eventually crack Leipzig’s resistance. The club believe the vision they have sold – the chance to step into Salah’s shadow and then out of it – is powerful enough to pull him to Anfield.
If that fails, the plan does not end. It simply changes shape. And the next time Liverpool line up without Salah on the right, the identity of the man hugging that touchline will say plenty about how bold this new regime really intends to be.
