Brighton Reportedly Reject £50M Liverpool Bid for Yankuba Minteh
Liverpool’s increasingly frustrating summer transfer window has taken another disappointing turn, with Brighton & Hove Albion reportedly rejecting a £50 million bid from the Reds for highly rated winger Yankuba Minteh.
With the new season just days away, Liverpool are still attempting to strengthen their attacking options, particularly on the wings. The club finished last season appearing short of depth in wide areas, and that problem has become even more significant following Mohamed Salah’s departure after the Egyptian forward and the club mutually agreed to terminate the final year of his contract.
Salah’s exit has left Liverpool with a huge attacking void to fill. The experienced winger had been one of the club’s most important players for many years, and replacing his production, creativity and influence was always going to be a major challenge.
Liverpool did make an early move in the market by signing Victor Muñoz from Osasuna. However, that addition was never expected to be the only attacking reinforcement. The club’s plans reportedly involved bringing in at least two more forwards, including a high-profile player capable of stepping into the role left vacant by Salah.
So far, however, that strategy has failed to materialise.
Liverpool had reportedly identified Yan Diomande as one of their preferred targets, but the situation eventually became complicated, with the player seemingly using the interest from the Reds as part of his efforts to secure a move to Real Madrid. Once that opportunity collapsed, Liverpool turned their attention towards Paris Saint-Germain and have subsequently found themselves struggling to make progress over potential deals for Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye.
With Liverpool’s season opener now only three days away, reports have finally emerged suggesting that the club is considering alternative targets should their attempts to sign Barcola and Mbaye ultimately fail.
One of those alternatives is believed to be Brighton’s 22-year-old Gambian winger Yankuba Minteh.
Minteh is viewed primarily as a potential alternative to Mbaye rather than Barcola, given the different profiles and expectations surrounding the two players. Nevertheless, his emergence as a Liverpool target highlights just how urgently the club is looking to add another attacking option before the transfer window closes.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, Brighton appear to have little interest in making negotiations easy.
Reports from several respected journalists and outlets, including The Athletic’s James Pearce and David Ornstein, TalkSport’s Ben Jacobs and The Times’ Paul Joyce, claim that Brighton have already rejected a £50 million offer from Liverpool for Minteh.
The reported rejection could represent another significant setback for Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes, who has endured a difficult summer while attempting to reshape the squad.
There is also an element of irony surrounding Liverpool’s interest in Minteh. The winger was already available to Hughes during the summer of 2024, when Hughes was beginning his tenure as Liverpool’s sporting director. At that time, Minteh eventually moved from Newcastle United to Brighton in a deal worth around £30 million.
Liverpool had reportedly been linked with the player during that period, but the club ultimately decided against pursuing the transfer.
Since then, Minteh has continued to develop and establish himself as an exciting attacking talent, meaning Liverpool may now have to pay considerably more than the £30 million Brighton spent on him two years ago.
The decision not to sign Minteh in 2024 looks even more significant when viewed against Liverpool’s transfer activity that summer. Despite obvious attacking needs, the Reds did not bring in a new attacking player during that window. The most notable piece of business completed by Hughes was the signing of goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who was brought in with the intention of eventually succeeding Alisson Becker.
Hughes also saw Liverpool attempt to sign Martin Zubimendi, but that pursuit ultimately ended without the midfielder joining the club.
Fast-forward to the present and Liverpool once again find themselves needing attacking reinforcements. Salah has now departed, the squad remains relatively thin in certain attacking areas, and several of the club’s preferred targets have proved difficult to acquire.
The reported £50 million bid for Minteh therefore appears to be another indication that Liverpool are becoming increasingly willing to spend heavily in an attempt to solve the problem before the transfer window shuts.
However, Brighton’s decision to reject the offer means Liverpool could once again be forced back to the negotiating table or towards another alternative.
With the Premier League season about to begin and less than two weeks remaining before the transfer window closes, the pressure is now firmly on Liverpool’s recruitment department.
The club urgently needs to add quality and depth to its attack, but the difficulties encountered with several targets have left Liverpool in a vulnerable negotiating position. Rival clubs are fully aware of the Reds’ need for reinforcements, and that could make every remaining deal considerably more complicated and expensive.
For Hughes and Liverpool, the reported rejection of the £50 million Minteh proposal is therefore another unwelcome development in what has so far been a highly frustrating transfer window. With the new season on the doorstep, the club now has limited time to turn its plans into reality and provide head coach Andoni Iraola with the attacking reinforcements he needs.
