Liverpool set to return with improved bid for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh

Liverpool are expected to return with an improved offer for Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh after the Seagulls turned down an opening £50m bid, according to reports. The Merseyside club are stepping up their search for a long-term successor to Mohamed Salah as the transfer window nears its close.

Brighton received and rejected Liverpool’s package for the 21-year-old Gambia international, though the Seagulls are braced for a follow-up approach. Minteh is currently sidelined with an injury that is expected to keep him out for around eight weeks, meaning he would not be immediately available even if a deal were struck.

Minteh emerges as Salah alternative

Minteh joined Brighton from Newcastle for around £30m two years ago and has scored nine goals in 66 appearances for the club. He is understood to be willing to move to Anfield should Liverpool return with a revised bid that satisfies Brighton’s valuation.

His emergence as a target comes as Liverpool explore several options on the flanks. The club submitted a package worth £86m for RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande earlier in the window, only for the winger to instead complete a move to Real Madrid, forcing Arne Slot’s recruitment team back to the drawing board.

Barcola talks continue amid valuation gap

Liverpool remain in talks with Paris Saint-Germain over Bradley Barcola, though there is understood to be a significant gap between the two clubs’ valuation of the France international. PSG, the reigning Champions League winners, are said to be holding out for a fee in the region of £145m, well above what Liverpool have been willing to offer.

The Anfield club have also registered interest in another PSG forward, Ibrahim Mbaye, as part of a broader effort to identify targets who are both available and attainable before the window shuts. The pursuit of Minteh appears to be part of that same exercise, with Liverpool testing the market to see which deals can realistically be completed.

Wide areas remain priority

Liverpool have already added one winger this summer, bringing in Victor Munoz from Osasuna, but strengthening further in wide areas remains the club’s chief priority for the remainder of the window. Sources suggest the majority of Liverpool’s remaining transfer budget has been earmarked specifically for a new wide forward.

The club have also brought in Barcelona captain Ronald Araujo on a loan deal this summer, but that move has not affected the resources set aside for a winger signing. With Salah’s long-term future at the club a subject of continued speculation, Liverpool appear determined to secure a like-for-like replacement before deadline day.

Sources

• dailymail.com
• The Independent

This is an independent report written from the facts across the sources named above.