Liverpool’s Winger Search: Diomande or Minteh?

Liverpool’s search for a new right-sided winger has narrowed to two very different solutions: the €130million headline act, or the £40million rising talent who would cost a fraction of the fee.

Mohamed Salah’s departure after nine glittering years has ripped a hole in Liverpool’s attack and their identity. The club’s response has been clear: find a new talisman for the right flank, and do it now.

Diomande: The £112m statement signing

RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande sits at the top of Liverpool’s list. He is the marquee option, the one that would send a message across Europe.

Leipzig have planted their flag at around €130million (£112m). Liverpool have already tested that resolve with a bid in the region of £90m, turned away without hesitation. The rejection has not cooled their interest. If anything, it has sharpened it.

Inside Anfield, there is growing belief that Diomande wants the move. Club sources suggest confidence is building that the winger’s preference is Liverpool, and that he is ready to push from his side. His performances for Ivory Coast at the World Cup have only driven his price and profile higher, but they have also strengthened Liverpool’s conviction that he is worth the fight.

Since Andoni Iraola walked through the door, Liverpool have stepped up their pursuit. The new head coach has been central to the pitch: Diomande has been handed a detailed vision of what the next Liverpool will look like and exactly where he fits in it. Not just as another signing, but as the man earmarked as Salah’s long-term successor on that right flank.

That idea has landed. Diomande, sources say, is excited by the prospect of becoming one of the faces of a new era at Anfield.

Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has echoed that picture from the player’s side. He has reported that Liverpool are working hard to secure Diomande’s “green light” so the winger can tell Leipzig he wants to join Liverpool. The strategy is clear: win the player first, then force the selling club to deal with that reality.

Liverpool are still pushing aggressively. The fee is enormous, the negotiations delicate, but the intent is unmistakable.

Minteh: £40m alternative waiting in the wings

Yet Liverpool’s recruitment team are not walking this tightrope without a safety net.

If the Diomande deal collapses under the weight of Leipzig’s valuation, Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh is expected to be one of the first names they turn to. Caught Offside report that Liverpool have already earmarked around £40m for a potential move for the winger.

That figure is stark: £72m less than the sum Leipzig want for Diomande. Same position, similar profile of threat, a completely different financial equation.

Minteh offers what Iraola demands from his wide players – pace, direct running, and menace in one‑v‑one situations. For a coach who builds his attacks on verticality and quick, aggressive transitions, those traits matter as much as any highlight reel.

Brighton, as ever, hold a player on the rise. Liverpool see him as an ideal budget option if the market for Diomande turns impossible, a move that preserves funds while still delivering a winger tailored to Iraola’s style.

A defining call in Liverpool’s rebuild

So the choice, if it comes to it, is stark. Break the bank for the man anointed as Salah’s heir, or pivot to a £40m alternative who ticks the tactical boxes without the blockbuster fee.

For now, Liverpool remain locked on Diomande. The club believe the player wants Anfield, the conversations with his camp are advanced, and the internal mood is one of quiet confidence that a deal can be forced through.

If Leipzig refuse to budge, Minteh waits in the background, a cheaper but compelling answer to the same question.

Liverpool’s attack is being rebuilt in real time. Which winger they unveil next will say everything about how bold they are prepared to be in the first summer after Salah.