Liverpool's Pursuit of Yankuba Minteh Intensifies Amid Brighton's Resistance

Liverpool’s chase for Yankuba Minteh has moved from quiet intrigue to open tug of war – and Brighton are not blinking.

The Reds have a broad verbal agreement with the Gambian winger, according to Fabrizio Romano, with Minteh giving the green light to the Liverpool project. The player is on board. The problem lies elsewhere.

Brighton have already slammed the door on two substantial offers. The first, a £50million bid, was rejected. Liverpool came back again on Thursday with an improved £60m proposal. That went the same way.

Romano reported on X that “Liverpool and Yankuba Minteh have a broad verbal agreement on contract terms as the player said yes to #LFC project. Brighton rejected £60m bid sent today but talks continue, as @foday_manneh_ reported.”

Gambian journalist Foday Manneh was the first to reveal that the second offer had been turned down, stating that a new Liverpool bid for the winger had been rejected after the initial £50m approach was knocked back. Crucially, he added that both clubs remain hopeful of finding an agreement and are still in talks.

So Liverpool have their man’s approval. They just don’t yet have Brighton’s.

Brighton hold the line

Only days ago, the feeling around the deal was very different. There was a sense that £60m might be enough to bring Brighton to the table in a more serious way.

Ben Jacobs suggested that figure could be decisive, saying Liverpool were working with Andoni Iraola to judge whether a second bid for Minteh was worth it and that “if they hit around £60m, I think that would be a very difficult offer for Brighton to turn down.”

Brighton have turned it down.

That refusal sharpens the picture. This is not a simple negotiation over a promising winger; it is a full-blooded Premier League battle over a major attacking asset, with Brighton again showing they will not be pushed around on price.

Barcola still the No.1

Minteh is not Liverpool’s only wing target, and he is not at the top of the list.

Jacobs underlined that point, explaining that “Yankuba Minteh has been a target for some time,” but that the hierarchy of options is clear: Bradley Barcola is seen as the priority. A “must-get” if Liverpool can pull it off. Behind him sits a cluster of alternatives – Minteh among them – that the club have explored and even bid for.

Liverpool’s interest in Minteh bubbled earlier in the summer before cooling as Barcola took centre stage. Now, with talks over the Brighton man intensifying, it is clear the Reds are prepared to push hard on multiple fronts to refresh their wide options.

What they did not expect was for Minteh to prove just as difficult to prise away as Barcola.

How hard will Liverpool go?

Two bids in, both rejected. A player who has already said yes. A selling club that refuses to act like one.

Liverpool now face the key question: how far are they prepared to go?

Brighton have not named a public price, and the failure of the £60m bid removes the previous assumption that such a figure would be enough. Any third offer will almost certainly have to go higher, but there is a limit even for a club of Liverpool’s stature, especially with other targets and positions to consider.

Talks are ongoing. The relationship between the clubs remains functional rather than hostile. Yet every rejection ratchets up the pressure on Liverpool’s recruitment team to decide whether Minteh is worth entering that next financial bracket.

They thought the path to Minteh might be smoother than the road to Barcola. Right now, it looks every bit as steep.