Liverpool’s Winger Hunt: Barcola or Minteh?

Liverpool’s summer transfer plan has a clear headline: find the next wide forward to shape the post-Jürgen Klopp era. The name in lights is Bradley Barcola. The name gathering speed in the background is Yankuba Minteh.

And right now, the reality of the market suggests the second might be far easier to land than the first.

Barcola: elite target, elite obstacles

Barcola has used this summer’s World Cup as a global shop window. Surrounded by a stacked France attack that has rattled in 16 goals in six games, the PSG winger has shown why Europe’s heavyweights are circling. He is fighting with club and country teammate Desire Doué for a starting role in Tuesday’s semi-final against Spain, but the real battle may come once the tournament ends.

Behind the scenes, the situation is tense. Sources have indicated Barcola is open to leaving PSG. His minutes under Luis Enrique have shrunk, and the French champions are pushing ahead with moves for Yan Diomande and Maghnes Akliouche. Two new attacking arrivals would crowd the room even further.

Barcola has already stalled on talks over a new contract, with his current deal running down towards its final two years. That stance nudges PSG towards a decision they do not want to make: cash in now, or risk losing leverage later.

The problem for Liverpool is simple. Price and competition.

PSG are expected to demand a fee beyond the current British transfer record. On top of that, Liverpool know they are not alone. Arsenal are lurking, and not quietly. Daily Mail journalist Lewis Steele revealed at the weekend that the Gunners are viewed by some close to the club as frontrunners if PSG open the door to a sale.

“Arsenal seem very hot on Morgan Rogers. Can they afford both of him and Bradley Barcola? I’m not sure,” Steele said, before adding that a contact “around Arsenal” believes Mikel Arteta’s side are currently “top of the race” for the Frenchman. The caveat is obvious: nobody yet knows if PSG will actually green-light an exit.

Liverpool, then, remain in the conversation but not in control. Richard Hughes cannot wait on a fantasy scenario while others move. Diomande has already slipped through their fingers. The club has shifted its gaze to a third winger on the summer shortlist.

Minteh moves up the list

This is where Yankuba Minteh comes in.

talkSPORT report that Liverpool are now seriously considering a move for the Brighton winger, with a “firm approach” being plotted for the 21-year-old. The Gambia international has been on the radar for months; his name first surfaced on FSG’s list back in June 2024, and by late June this year he was one of six wide options under active consideration.

Minteh’s profile is obvious and attractive. A left-footed right winger, “lightning quick” and “extremely dangerous” in full flow, he ticks the boxes Liverpool have traditionally prized in that role. Premier League minutes at Brighton add another layer of reassurance.

Brighton, though, rarely make life easy. They sell, but only on their terms. Their track record in driving up fees for their best players is notorious across the division. Any deal for Minteh is unlikely to be cheap, with talk of a valuation in the £70m bracket.

Even so, respected journalist David Lynch believes Minteh fits Liverpool’s needs better than some of the other names linked.

“I have to say the one I lean towards, and he probably had the least impressive season of the three, actually, is probably Minteh,” Lynch said, when weighing Minteh against Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Said El Mala.

“Minteh is probably a better profile fit, obviously a left footer on the right-hand side, with Premier League experience.”

The numbers from last season will not blow anyone away. Three goals and four assists across 34 appearances in the 2025/26 campaign is modest for a winger of his reputation. Lynch, though, sees context rather than limitation.

“He didn’t have a great season last season in terms of output,” he admitted, before pointing to Brighton’s structure as a factor. Minteh was often kept very wide, asked to hug the touchline instead of attacking central, goal-rich zones.

In a more aggressive, vertical setup under new Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola, Lynch believes the ceiling rises sharply.

“I think in a kind of Iraola system, I can easily see how his numbers would upscale. He also works incredibly hard off the ball. His defensive numbers are great.”

That last line will not be lost on Liverpool’s recruitment team. A winger who presses, tracks and sprints both ways has long been non-negotiable at Anfield.

Barcola still the dream

None of this means Liverpool have given up on Barcola. Far from it.

Lynch was clear where he stands when asked about alternatives to Diomande: “That’s why I’m really wedded to the idea that you go and get Barcola if you can. But if they had to move down the list, I think he [Minteh] would be quite high up for me.”

That is the tension Liverpool must live with this summer. The ideal signing is obvious. So are the obstacles. Arsenal’s interest, PSG’s price, the uncertainty over whether the French champions will even sanction a sale.

Minteh, by contrast, feels more attainable, even if Brighton will push hard in negotiations. A £70m deal for a 21-year-old with raw numbers but clear upside is a risk. It is also the kind of calculated gamble that has defined Liverpool’s best windows.

A wider attacking puzzle

All of this plays out against a bigger question: what happens with Mohamed Salah?

A “shock” new suitor has reportedly entered the race for the Liverpool legend, with a move to Saudi Arabia or Major League Soccer now viewed as the likeliest next step if he does leave Anfield. Losing Salah would turn the search for a winger from succession planning into urgent surgery.

There are other fires to fight. Liverpool’s pursuit of a £34m-rated Mexico sensation has hit “complications”, even as “contact” over a deal has been made. The market is moving, and not always in their favour.

So Liverpool stand at a familiar crossroads. Barcola, the marquee prize, sits behind a wall of cost and competition. Minteh, the £70m alternative, offers pace, profile and potential in a system built to maximise exactly that.

In a summer that could reshape the club’s forward line, which door do they dare push hardest?