Yankuba Minteh's Liverpool Move Unlikely as Deadline Approaches
Yankuba Minteh’s camp are still clinging to the hope of a dramatic deadline-day switch to Liverpool – but the deal now sits firmly in the ‘unlikely’ column.
Brighton have dug in hard over the 22-year-old winger, slapping an £80m price tag on the Gambia international and knocking back two Liverpool bids, the latest believed to be around £60m. The stance is clear: pay the full fee or walk away.
Liverpool, for now, are walking.
Minteh hope lingers as clock ticks
Transfer reporter Ben Jacobs revealed on Tuesday morning that Minteh’s representatives are still pushing for Anfield. They see Liverpool as the ideal next step and have not given up on a late breakthrough before the 11pm deadline.
“Yankuba Minteh’s representatives are still seeking a move to Liverpool, and they hope that it happens today,” Jacobs told talkSPORT, via GIVEMESPORT.
The problem for Minteh’s camp? Liverpool’s attack is no longer in flux.
Cody Gakpo, whose future had been the hinge on which any Minteh deal might swing, is staying put. Liverpool have already turned down an £80m offer from Manchester City for the Dutchman in the last 24 hours, matching exactly what Brighton are thought to want for Minteh. One in, one out could have balanced the books. Instead, the door has effectively shut.
Liverpool’s numbers – and logic – don’t favour Minteh
On paper, swapping an in-form, fit Gakpo for an injured Minteh at the same price would be a baffling piece of business.
Gakpo has started the season sharply, with a goal and an assist from his first two games. He is settled, productive and trusted. Minteh, by contrast, is sidelined “for the foreseeable future” at Brighton. The talent is obvious, but this is not the moment Liverpool can afford to pay a premium for potential that can’t immediately affect the pitch.
There is also the simple matter of numbers.
If Minteh were to arrive without any of Liverpool’s current forwards leaving, Andoni Iraola would be left with six senior wingers competing for two starting spots. It would be a dream for rotation and tactical flexibility across a long season, but a nightmare when it comes to managing minutes and egos.
That reality is shaping Liverpool’s stance. They have monitored other right-sided options such as Ismaila Sarr at Crystal Palace and briefly flirted with the idea of freshening up the wide areas. Once it became clear Gakpo was staying and Bradley Barcola had completed his move from Paris Saint-Germain, the urgency to add another winger drained away.
A late twist, or a long wait?
Deadline day has a habit of tearing up scripts. One phone call, one injury, one unexpected bid can flip a club’s plans on their head.
Minteh’s agents are banking on exactly that kind of chaos. They will keep pushing Liverpool’s name until the window slams shut, hoping that something – anything – shifts in those final hours.
Right now, though, all the indicators point in the same direction. Brighton are holding their line. Liverpool are protecting what they have. The price is too high, the squad too full, the timing all wrong.
Unless something wild happens before the clock hits 11pm, Yankuba Minteh’s Anfield dream will be parked. And the 22-year-old looks set to spend the rest of 2026 trying to prove at Brighton that he is worth every penny of that £80m fee.
