Liverpool’s Winger Hunt: Barcola vs. Minteh
Liverpool’s search for a new winger is starting to look like a saga. The name at the top of the list is clear: Bradley Barcola. The path to actually landing him is anything but.
Barcola: The A‑List Target With A Record-Breaking Price
Barcola has lit up this summer’s World Cup, slipping seamlessly into France’s star-studded attack. Six games, 16 goals for the team, and a semi-final against Spain on Tuesday still to come. In that environment, every touch is a shop window. Every run adds a few more million to the price.
Behind the scenes, though, his club situation is far less glamorous. Barcola’s minutes at PSG have shrunk under Luis Enrique, and with the European champions pushing to bring in Yan Diomande and Maghnes Akliouche, the 23-year-old is suddenly looking over his shoulder. He has paused contract renewal talks, with his current deal running down to two years. That is usually the moment when big clubs start circling and accountants start sweating.
PSG, though, are not minded to sell on the cheap. Far from it. The French giants are said to be demanding a fee in excess of the British transfer record if they are to sanction a sale. That alone would make negotiations brutal. Add in Arsenal, and it becomes a full-blown arms race.
Daily Mail journalist Lewis Steele has suggested Arsenal see themselves at the front of the queue. He revealed that a contact “in and around Arsenal” believes the Gunners are “top of the race” for Barcola if he leaves this summer. The caveat is obvious: nobody yet knows if PSG will actually open the door.
Liverpool, for their part, remain in the conversation but not in control. They know that if PSG do soften their stance, Arsenal’s interest and the fee involved could quickly turn the chase into a bidding war that even a club of their stature might decide is bad business.
So Richard Hughes, Liverpool’s new sporting director, is doing what smart operators do in this market: keeping the Barcola dream alive while quietly moving down the list.
Minteh Moves Into Focus
Yankuba Minteh is no longer just a name on that list. According to talkSPORT, Liverpool are now giving serious thought to making a concrete move for the Brighton winger.
The Gambia international has been on Liverpool’s radar for some time, flagged as a target as far back as June 2024. More recently, he was one of six wide options under consideration. That was the theory. The tone has now shifted towards action, with the Reds said to be “plotting a firm approach” for the 21-year-old.
Minteh’s profile fits a familiar Liverpool template: young, explosive, and still some way from his ceiling. He has been described as “lightning quick” and “extremely dangerous,” the kind of winger who can stretch a back line and flip the tempo of a game in a single sprint.
Brighton, though, rarely sell without a fight. They are open to losing top players, but only on their terms. Recent history shows they extract maximum value and will happily walk away if the numbers do not hit their mark. Any Liverpool move for Minteh is likely to be long, tense, and expensive.
A Fit For Iraola’s Liverpool
Despite a modest return of seven goal contributions – three goals and four assists in 34 games last season – Minteh has his admirers. Journalist David Lynch believes the raw numbers do not tell the full story and that Liverpool, under new manager Andoni Iraola, could unlock a different level.
Lynch sees Minteh as the best fit among the current cluster of alternatives, which also includes Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Said El Mala. The key? Profile and role.
“Minteh is probably a better profile fit, obviously a left footer on the right-hand side, with Premier League experience,” he argued, pointing out that Brighton’s system often kept the winger very wide, limiting his chances to attack central, goal-scoring areas.
In an Iraola setup, with its aggressive pressing and direct transitions, Minteh’s pace and work rate become weapons. Lynch highlighted his defensive contribution as another major plus, underlining how hard he works off the ball. That blend of intensity and vertical threat has long been central to Liverpool’s identity.
If the club do decide they cannot reach Barcola’s price bracket, Minteh starts to look less like a consolation prize and more like a calculated bet on upside.
Barcola Still The Obsession
Even so, inside Liverpool there is a clear sense of hierarchy. Diomande has already slipped from their grasp. The market for elite wingers is thin. That scarcity only hardens the view that, if there is any way to do it, Barcola remains the one to chase.
Lynch admitted as much, insisting he is “wedded” to the idea of Liverpool going all out for the PSG man if circumstances allow. Only if that proves impossible does Minteh move “quite high up” the list.
For Hughes and his recruitment team, this is the balance: a blockbuster move for a World Cup standout, with all the financial and competitive risk that entails, or a £70m-level swing on a younger, less polished option whose numbers might explode in the right system.
A Summer Of Sliding Doors
All of this unfolds against a wider backdrop of uncertainty at Anfield. A “shock” new suitor is reported to have entered the race for club legend Mohamed Salah, with a move to Saudi Arabia or Major League Soccer now viewed as the likeliest route if he does leave. At the same time, Liverpool’s push for a £34m-rated Mexico talent has hit “complications,” despite contact already being made.
So the picture is layered. A potential Salah exit. A tricky pursuit of a Mexican sensation. A dream chase for Barcola that may hinge on PSG’s resolve and Arsenal’s ambition. And now Minteh, the £70m alternative whose profile whispers “Liverpool winger” every time he sprints down the touchline.
The window is still young. The decisions made in the next few weeks will shape what Iraola has to work with on that right flank – and may well define how dangerous Liverpool look when the season kicks off.
