Yankuba Minteh Transfer Saga: Liverpool's Deadline Day Dilemma
Yankuba Minteh’s name is still being whispered around Liverpool on deadline day, but this is a saga running on hope rather than likelihood.
The Brighton winger’s representatives are pushing hard for a late switch to Anfield, with talks having rumbled on through August. Liverpool’s interest has been real, their need less so. Brighton, meanwhile, have drawn a thick line in the sand at £80m for the 22-year-old Gambia international, having already turned down two bids from Merseyside, the latest worth £60m.
That stance has slowed everything to a crawl.
Agents pushing, door barely open
Reporter Ben Jacobs revealed on Tuesday morning that Minteh’s camp are still trying to engineer a move to Liverpool before the 11pm deadline. They want it. They believe Anfield is the next step. They are still making calls.
But the reality is harsher. Jacobs also made clear that a deal is unlikely to materialise before the window shuts, and the main reason is already in Liverpool’s dressing room.
Cody Gakpo is staying put.
Liverpool have knocked back an £80m offer from Manchester City for the Dutch forward in the last 24 hours, a figure that mirrors Brighton’s valuation of Minteh. In simple terms, the numbers tell their own story: selling Gakpo to fund Minteh would have been a straight swap in financial terms. Liverpool chose to keep what they have.
And right now, that looks like the sensible call.
Minteh vs Gakpo: the cold logic
Minteh is currently sidelined with an injury and is not expected back in the immediate future. Gakpo, by contrast, has started the season sharply, with a goal and an assist from his first two games. One player is producing now. The other is a long-term play who cannot contribute immediately.
For a club that expects to compete on multiple fronts from the first whistle of the season, that matters.
If Liverpool were to sign Minteh without moving anyone on, Andoni Iraola would suddenly be staring at a logjam of options out wide. Six senior wingers, two starting spots. It sounds like a manager’s dream until the reality of minutes, rhythm, and egos kicks in.
LFC have already explored Ismaila Sarr of Crystal Palace as an alternative right-sided option, but the landscape has shifted. With Gakpo staying and Bradley Barcola already through the door from Paris Saint-Germain, the urgency to add yet another winger has drained away.
Squad depth is one thing. Overcrowding is another.
Brighton hold firm, Liverpool look elsewhere
From Brighton’s perspective, there is no need to blink. They have an asset they rate at £80m and have shown no inclination to soften that stance. Liverpool, who once might have been tempted into a big swing on a young wide player, are now weighing every move against a stacked forward line and a settled attack.
Minteh’s representatives will keep pushing into the final hours, hoping for the kind of late twist that has defined so many deadline days. A sudden sale. An injury. A domino effect from another major transfer.
Right now, though, all signs point to the same outcome: Minteh staying at Brighton for the remainder of 2026, Liverpool going into the season with what they have, and a deal that once felt hot gradually cooling on the back burner.
The clock will keep ticking. The phones will keep ringing. But unless something dramatic breaks, this is one Liverpool transfer story destined to end with a pause, not a punchline.
