Liverpool Have Shock Yankuba Minteh Bid Rejected By Brighton & Hove Albion

As has been reported by a few journalists over the last few days, the expectation is that Liverpool are to be quite active in the closing days of this summer transfer window, and today we may have seen the first sign of that come into action. 

After weeks of fans believing the two winger candidates were PSG duo Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye, it would appear the club have a number of names of their shortlist, and have made a bid for one of them in the form of Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh.

The 22 year old signed from Newcastle United in 2024 for £30 million, and at just 20 years old at the time, he was seen as another player that Brighton had managed to secure on a low price deal, that they will eventually sell for two or three times the amount they paid for him. 

Minteh has several attributes that would make him an attractive signing for any top club, including Liverpool. One of the main ones is his electric pace and tenacity to run at defences, inside or outside. He also possesses a very high work rate to go alongside his incredible raw speed, meaning he could fit perfectly in an Andoni Iraola system at LFC. 

Furthermore, the club is looking to try and build around last summer's star signings in Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, and Minteh has the potential to complement the pair of them perfectly.

Wirtz enjoys playing the ball into space and linking up on the wings, while Isak was at his best at Newcastle United when he had a winger playing balls into the box for him to get onto the end of, and score. 

Yankuba Minteh can do both of these things, and it is therefore no real surprise to see the club looking to try and sign the dynamic attacker this window, but there are a few issues with him.

One of the main criticisms of Yankuba Minteh is his end product, with the forward having all the ability to get into a dangerous final third position, but when it comes to finishing the chance of, he struggles to convert. Now, of course this can be worked on and Andoni Iraola will be aware of Minteh's poor conversion rate, and it will be an area that he would work on with the Gambian international, should he join the Reds.

However, a more prominent issue is Minteh's current injury status. At the moment, the winger is out with a calf injury that required surgical intervention, so he is out for the next 8 weeks. 

These reports first emerged from high profile journalist, David Ornstein who has said that Liverpool have had a bid of around £50 million rejected by Brighton. The report goes on to say that while Yankuba Minteh is expected to be out injured for another 8 weeks, should Liverpool and Brighton come to an agreement on a fee, with winger would be keen on the move to Anfield. 

Then Ben Jacobs backed this up saying that the bid had been rejected by Brighton, and that the Gambian international is part of Liverpool's push to add multiple wide attackers before the window closes in 12 days time.

Yankuba Minteh has all the technical and physical quality to be a huge success in the Premier League as a whole, and a move to Liverpool would be one that could prove to be a masterstroke of a deal. 

But he has a poor record of finishing his chances, was in and out of the Brighton team last season and above all else, is currently unavailable to play for the next two months.

So if Liverpool were to sign the forward it would be taking a large slice of risk, especially when there are options out there, like Ibrahim Mbaye, who would reportedly be available for roughly the same price as the Minteh bid, and is not currently injured.

But it does appear the club are looking for at least two more wingers, with Bradley Barcola being the firm number one target, and a mix of other targets being the possible second.