Liverpool's Transfer Window: The Yankuba Minteh Dilemma
Liverpool’s transfer window is turning into a race against the clock, and Yankuba Minteh now sits right in the middle of the scramble.
With roughly a week left to shape their squad for the new season, the Reds still have glaring gaps. Curtis Jones has departed, opening up a hole in midfield. On the right flank, Mohamed Salah’s exit remains unresolved in footballing terms: no like-for-like replacement, no clear new focal point, and a frontline that has struggled to consistently threaten from wide areas.
Amid that uncertainty, one name keeps circling back. Minteh.
Liverpool have twice gone to Brighton for the winger, testing the Seagulls’ resolve. The second bid, according to The Athletic, reached £60m. Brighton said no. Any successful move now likely means pushing beyond that figure, edging into the territory where the price starts to feel like a premium for need rather than pure value.
Yet the story hasn’t cooled. If anything, it’s heating up.
Minteh’s agent, Bakary Bojang, has added fuel to the fire by posting an image on his Instagram story showing himself preparing to board a plane, hinting at late-window talks. It’s the kind of detail that tends to appear just before negotiations accelerate. Liverpool look set, at the very least, to thrash out personal terms and see how far Brighton are truly willing to push back.
They don’t have the luxury of time. The window is closing fast, and Liverpool must decide whether Minteh is genuinely their Salah heir or just the latest name in a frantic search.
The path to this point has been anything but smooth. Liverpool initially targeted Yan Diomande for that right-sided role. That pursuit faded, and attention then swung towards Ibrahim Mbaye a couple of weeks ago. Now the focus has shifted again to Minteh, a winger with a mixed record and, crucially, one who is currently sidelined for three months.
That’s the dilemma. Do you commit big money to a player who won’t be available immediately and whose output has not always convinced, simply because the alternatives look even less appealing?
Inside Anfield, the calculation is stark. If Minteh is the chosen one, then Liverpool have to live with the risk and the price. If he isn’t, they are running out of realistic options.
The final days of this window promise tension. Minteh could yet walk through the doors at Liverpool, Mbaye’s name might resurface, or the club might roll the dice on going without a marquee right-sided signing at all.
With the clock ticking and the right flank still unresolved, how bold are Liverpool prepared to be?
