Yankuba Minteh's Liverpool Move Unlikely as Deadline Day Approaches

Yankuba Minteh’s representatives are still working the phones, still clinging to the idea that deadline day might yet deliver a move to Liverpool. The clock, though, is not their friend.

The Brighton winger has been on Liverpool’s radar throughout August, a 22-year-old Gambia international whose pace and direct running fit the club’s attacking profile. But interest is one thing; meeting Brighton’s demands is quite another.

The Seagulls have set their price at £80m and have already turned down two bids from Merseyside, the latest believed to be £60m. Brighton are standing firm. Liverpool, at this stage, are not blinking.

Agents pushing, reality resisting

Ben Jacobs revealed on Tuesday morning that Minteh’s camp still see Liverpool as the ideal move and are holding out hope that something dramatic happens before the 11pm cut-off. Speaking to talkSPORT, he explained that the player’s representatives are still actively seeking a switch to Anfield and want it done today.

The problem? Liverpool’s attacking picture has shifted.

Cody Gakpo, heavily linked with a possible exit, is now set to stay. Bradley Barcola has already completed his move from Paris Saint-Germain, taking one more elite wide option off the market. Liverpool have also looked at Ismaila Sarr of Crystal Palace as an alternative right-sided option, but with Gakpo remaining, the urgency for another winger has faded.

Jacobs added the key caveat: with the Dutchman staying put, a deal for Minteh is now regarded as unlikely. The door isn’t locked, but it’s barely ajar.

The Gakpo factor

The financial logic is stark. Liverpool have rejected an £80m bid from Manchester City for Gakpo in the last 24 hours, according to The Athletic. That figure mirrors the price Brighton want for Minteh.

On paper, one blockbuster sale could have funded one blockbuster arrival. In reality, it makes little sense.

Gakpo is fit, firing, and already delivering. He has started the season with a goal and an assist in his first two games, offering end product and versatility across the frontline. Minteh, by contrast, is sidelined with an injury and expected to be out for the foreseeable future.

Selling a productive, settled forward to sign an injured one at the same price would be a hard sell to any sporting director, never mind a club that prides itself on rational squad building.

A crowded wing

Even if Liverpool did push ahead and land Minteh without losing anyone, Andoni Iraola would be left managing a logjam of wide options. Six senior wingers battling for two starting spots might look like a dream for rotation, but it is a nightmare when it comes to rhythm, roles, and egos.

Minutes would be squeezed. Pathways would blur. The balance of the squad could tilt from healthy competition to restless frustration.

So Minteh’s camp can push. They can wait. They can hope for a late twist that blows open a door currently only on the latch.

But with Gakpo staying, Brighton unyielding at £80m, and Liverpool already turning down that exact sum for a key forward, the odds are brutally clear.

Deadline day has a habit of springing chaos from nowhere. Unless that chaos hits Anfield in the final hours, Minteh looks destined to remain a Brighton player well beyond the close of the 2026 window.