Liverpool Renew Interest in Yankuba Minteh After Brighton Rejects Bid

Liverpool’s chase for Yankuba Minteh has swung back into the spotlight, and this time it feels serious. The Brighton winger has given the green light to the move – but his club are in no mood to fold.

Interest from Anfield surfaced earlier in the summer before cooling as Liverpool focused on Bradley Barcola and, to a lesser extent, Ibrahim Mbaye. That hierarchy hasn’t changed much, but Minteh is now right back in the frame.

Liverpool first tested Brighton’s resolve with a £50million offer. Rejected. The response was firm, but not final. So the Reds came back.

On Thursday, Fabrizio Romano reported that Liverpool and Minteh have reached a broad verbal agreement on personal terms, with the Gambian winger saying yes to the #LFC project. At the same time, Brighton turned down a second proposal worth £60million, as first revealed by Gambian journalist Foday Manneh, who confirmed both bids had been knocked back but stressed that talks between the clubs are ongoing and “hopeful”.

So Liverpool have their man’s approval. What they don’t yet have is Brighton’s.

The expectation in some quarters was that £60million would be the tipping point. Ben Jacobs had suggested that figure “would be a very difficult offer for Brighton to turn down” as Liverpool weighed up whether to return with a second bid. Brighton, though, have called that bluff and held their line.

The dynamic on Merseyside is nuanced. Barcola remains the preferred option. As Jacobs put it, the Frenchman is viewed as the “number one – a must-get if they possibly can”, with Minteh one of several alternatives the club have explored and even bid for.

Yet the market is ruthless. Barcola will not be easy to prise away, and Liverpool’s pursuit of Minteh – once thought to be the simpler route – is proving anything but straightforward. Two sizeable bids in, no agreement, and a selling club that knows it holds a valuable asset under contract.

The pressure now shifts back onto Liverpool’s recruitment team. Brighton’s stance makes one thing clear: if the Reds want Minteh, they will have to go harder, and higher. A third bid is expected, but its level remains under wraps.

Liverpool have the player’s word. Brighton have the leverage. Something has to give – and the next offer will reveal just how badly Anfield really want Yankuba Minteh.