Liverpool are readying a second formal offer for Brighton & Hove Albion winger Yankuba Minteh, six months after the Seagulls rebuffed their initial approach during the summer transfer window. The Reds' recruitment team has maintained contact with intermediaries close to the player throughout the autumn, and the club now believes a renewed bid could succeed where the first attempt failed.
Minteh, 20, joined Brighton from Danish side Odense for approximately £7 million in July 2023 but was immediately loaned to Feyenoord for the 2023-24 season, where he registered 11 goals and 6 assists in 37 Eredivisie appearances. He returned to the Amex this summer and has since made 19 appearances across all competitions, though only 8 have been starts. Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler has used him primarily as a substitute, and the Gambian international has logged just 692 Premier League minutes this season. That limited playing time has not dampened Liverpool's interest. Arne Slot's staff view Minteh as a direct, ball-carrying wide option who can operate on either flank—precisely the profile Liverpool lack behind Mohamed Salah and Luis Díaz. The club's analytics group rates his progressive carries and 1v1 success metrics in the top percentile among wingers under 21 in Europe's top five leagues.
Brighton rejected Liverpool's summer bid without entering negotiations, a stance consistent with the club's policy of not selling young talent until they have extracted full developmental value. The Seagulls paid just £7 million for Minteh but structured the deal with performance-based add-ons that could reach £10 million; any sale now would likely require a fee in the £30 million to £35 million range to satisfy both the club's internal ROI thresholds and Odense's sell-on clause, believed to be around 15%. Liverpool's first bid, submitted in late July, was understood to be in the low-£20 million range and was dismissed as insufficient. The Reds are now considering whether to approach £30 million or structure a deal with heavy performance incentives—Brighton has historically preferred upfront cash.
The timing of this renewed interest is notable. Liverpool sold Fabio Carvalho to Brentford for £27.5 million in August and offloaded several fringe players in the summer window, creating a net spend of roughly £6 million for the 2024 calendar year. That restraint has left the club with significant headroom under both Financial Fair Play regulations and FSG's internal budgeting parameters, and Michael Edwards, now CEO of Football at Fenway Sports Group, has signaled that Liverpool will be active in January if the right opportunities present themselves. Edwards was the architect of Liverpool's data-driven recruitment strategy during his previous tenure as sporting director and has maintained a close working relationship with current sporting director Richard Hughes. The fact that both men are aligned on Minteh suggests this is not a scouting department fancy but a board-level priority.
Brighton's negotiating position is complicated by Minteh's contract situation and the club's broader squad planning. The winger signed a five-year deal upon joining, meaning he is under contract until June 2028—Brighton is under no immediate pressure to sell. However, the club has already stockpiled wide attacking options, including Kaoru Mitoma, Simon Adingra, and recent signing Yankuba Minteh, and Hürzeler's reluctance to start Minteh consistently suggests the manager does not view him as a current first-choice option. If Liverpool return with a bid close to £30 million, Brighton's technical director David Weir will face a decision: bank a clean profit on a player who may not break into the starting XI this season, or hold firm and risk the player's value stagnating. The club has a track record of selling before peak value crystallizes—see Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool for £35 million and Moisés Caicedo to Chelsea for £115 million, both in summer 2023.
Liverpool's interest in Minteh also reflects a broader strategic shift. Under Slot, the club has moved away from the heavy tactical demands of Jürgen Klopp's gegenpressing system and toward a more possession-oriented, positional approach. That evolution requires forwards who can beat defenders in tight spaces and create advantages in settled offensive phases, rather than simply thrive in transition. Minteh's dribbling profile fits that model. His ability to play on both wings also addresses a depth issue: if Salah departs as a free agent in summer 2025—his contract expires in June—Liverpool will need multiple attacking reinforcements, and securing Minteh now would reduce the club's exposure to an inflated summer market.
Watch for Liverpool to submit a formal bid before the end of January, likely in the £28 million to £32 million range. Brighton's response will hinge on whether the club believes it can develop Minteh into a £50 million asset by maintaining his current trajectory, or whether cashing out now is the smarter play given Hürzeler's rotation preferences. If the bid is rejected, expect Liverpool to revisit in the summer with a higher offer, particularly if Salah's future remains unresolved. The player's camp has not agitated for a move, but Minteh's limited minutes at Brighton suggest he would welcome a transfer to a club where the pathway to regular football is clearer.
The deal hinges on a single variable: whether Tony Bloom's analytics model values Minteh's future upside above the guaranteed £30 million profit sitting on the table right now.
The takeaway
Liverpool ready to test Brighton again for Minteh at roughly **£30 million**—Bloom's profit-taking instinct versus long-term upside math.
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