Liverpool's Winger Hunt: Minteh and the Race Against Time
Liverpool’s winger hunt is turning into one of the sagas of the summer – and patience is starting to fray on all sides.
With Mohamed Salah gone to Trabzonspor, Anfield’s recruitment radar is locked on wide forwards. Victor Munoz has already arrived from Osasuna, but Liverpool’s big swing is aimed at the Premier League: Yankuba Minteh.
Minteh deal drives the market
Gambian winger Minteh, currently at Brighton, has become the central piece of Liverpool’s late-window plans. Gambian journalist Foday Manneh revealed on Friday that Brighton have already rejected two offers from the Reds, including an opening bid of £50m.
Manneh wrote that a second proposal has also been turned down, but stressed that both clubs remain hopeful of finding an agreement and are still in active talks.
The pressure around the deal rose again when Fabrizio Romano backed up Manneh’s reporting. Romano stated that Liverpool and Minteh have reached a “broad verbal agreement” on personal terms, with the player giving the green light to the Liverpool project. Brighton, though, have reportedly knocked back a £60m offer as well, forcing Liverpool back to the negotiating table with the clock ticking.
The message is clear: Liverpool want Minteh. Minteh wants Liverpool. Brighton want more money.
Mbaye and Barcola grow restless
That pursuit is not happening in isolation. Over in Paris, the ripple effect is being felt by Ibrahim Mbaye and Bradley Barcola.
Both PSG wingers are on Liverpool’s shortlist, but French outlet L’Equipe, via Get French Football News, reports that the slow pace of talks is starting to wear thin. The pair are said to feel their transfer sagas have dragged on too long, with no resolution in sight as the Ligue 1 season kicks off.
The situation is serious enough that neither Mbaye nor Barcola is expected to be part of Luis Enrique’s travelling squad for PSG’s Ligue 1 opener against Rennes. Their futures are being debated in boardrooms rather than on the pitch.
Negotiations between PSG and Liverpool for the France international Barcola are described as moving, but only gradually. For Mbaye, Senegal international and the other key piece in this story, talks are said to be even slower.
And that delay has consequences. With only ten days left in the summer window, L’Equipe reports that Mbaye is now prepared to look at other clubs if Liverpool continue to stall, especially after the Premier League side refused to meet PSG’s initial demands.
A €20m stand-off
The financial gap is stark. According to RMC Sport, Liverpool and PSG are €20m apart in their valuation of Mbaye. PSG want €70m. Liverpool are holding firm at around €50m.
That stand-off leaves Mbaye in limbo while Liverpool chase Minteh, and it raises a blunt question: how long will the winger wait?
If Liverpool push a Minteh deal over the line at a high fee, the knock-on effect could be brutal for Mbaye’s hopes of an Anfield move. The sense from France is that the longer this drags on, the more likely it becomes that Mbaye walks away and commits to another project.
Liverpool, then, are juggling two major winger targets, one in England and one in Paris, with the window closing fast and rival clubs watching closely.
Something has to give.
