Yankuba Minteh to Liverpool latest: Why Reds bid £60m for Brighton winger to join PSG's Bradley Barcola and replace Mo Salah

With a little over a week left in the summer transfer window, Liverpool have seen two bids rejected for Brighton & Hove Albion winger Yankuba Minteh, as they seek to bolster their attacking options.

The Reds' squad is looking lighter than ideal ahead of their Premier League opener against Newcastle United on Sunday, but Andoni Iraola has suggested that the club will likely sign more than one player before the end of the month.

Reliable sources have indicated that the Merseysiders are closing in on Paris Saint-Germain star Bradley Barcola for the left flank, while the latest reporting has claimed that Liverpool have seen two bids rejected for right winger, Minteh.

Many fans have questioned the thought process behind replacing the record-breaking Mohamed Salah with a player that scored just three Premier League goals in 2025-26, but the underlying numbers paint a more promising picture of the 21-year-old.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at why Liverpool are targeting Minteh, and how he might fit into Iraola's plans at Anfield.

What are Liverpool's winger options for Premier League opener?

As things stand, Liverpool will travel to face Newcastle at St James' Park with 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha seen as the team's biggest threat from wide areas.

The former Chelsea youngster was the match winner in last season's heated showdown on the Magpies' home turf, scoring a dramatic 100th-minute strike in August 2025's 3-2 victory, but it is perhaps a little early in Ngumoha's career for the club to be leaning so heavily on him.

Cody Gakpo is the most senior winger in the squad, but the Dutchman endured a dire campaign in 2025-26, and has been linked with a switch to Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

Elsewhere, new arrival Victor Munoz should be available to make an appearance, though the Spanish World Cup winner - who saw a potential move to Newcastle hijacked by Liverpool - is likely to start on the bench.

Federico Chiesa is seen as a centre-forward by Iraola, while Florian Wirtz, who has often featured on the left for club and country, is set to operate in midfield.

With that in mind, it is clear to see why the Reds are on the lookout for multiple wide forwards in the final days of the transfer window, and with no natural right wingers in the squad (or left-footed attackers in general), Minteh would make for a valuable addition - even if Liverpool will be waiting until mid-October for him to recover from an injury to his right leg.

How has Yankuba Minteh fared in the Premier League so far?

Minteh made a name for himself in the Premier League with Brighton, but he was first brought in by Newcastle, who signed the winger from Danish side Odense in June 2023.

The Magpies immediately sent the forward on loan to Eredivisie club Feyenoord, where he scored 10 goals in 27 top-flight matches, before selling him to the Seagulls for £30m in order to keep in line with the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules.

In 2024-25, the Gambia star proved a threat to teams up and down the Premier League thanks to his explosive pace, and he went on to provide six goals and four assists to the Brighton cause, at a rate of one direct contribution every 184 minutes.

However, while Minteh remained a key part of Fabian Hurzeler's setup at the Amex Stadium in 2025-26, he scored just three goals and managed four assists en route to qualifying for the Conference League's playoff round.

That modest return has supporters of all stripes questioning the potential move, but in a market where Tottenham have agreed to pay up to £85m for Savinho - who scored once and assisted once in the Premier League last term - a deal for Minteh in the region of £60-70m does not seem unreasonable.

How can Yankuba Minteh replace Mo Salah for Andoni Iraola's Liverpool?

It would be impossible to replace Salah's output with one player this summer, so Liverpool have aimed to spread the attacking burden across a new-look frontline.

Barcola seems likely to arrive before the transfer window closes, and it would be fair to describe the Frenchman as one of the best players in the world when it comes to making runs in behind opposition defences.

In fact, the 23-year-old ranked in the 99th percentile for progressive passes received per 90 in Europe's top five leagues last season, meaning that he is arguably the most direct attacking player on the market.

For the right flank, Liverpool were initially targeting Yan Diomande, before pivoting to Ibrahim Mbaye, and now Minteh.

All three are more effective with the ball at their feet, with Minteh ranking beyond the 90th percentile for progressive carries amongst wingers in the top five leagues, as well as third for successful dribbles, third for passes to the penalty box and first for accurate crosses (49) compared to wide players in the top seven leagues.

Combined, Barcola and Minteh may be able to offer the directness and creativity that Salah gave the Reds for nine years, and a link up with £125m striker Alexander Isak - as well as £116m playmaker Wirtz - sounds exceptionally potent on paper.