‘Number has to be right’ - £70m-rated Yankuba Minteh can still get Liverpool transfer as Brighton legend says right winger would ‘suit’ needs at Anfield

Having allowed Mohamed Salah to walk away from the final year of his contract as a free agent, Premier League heavyweights from Merseyside have known for a while that reinforcements in their attacking department would be required.

With new boss Andoni Iraola at the helm, exciting Spaniard Victor Munoz was lured away from Osasuna while £123 million ($164m) was splashed out on acquiring Champions League-winning France international Bradley Barcola - as he bid farewell to Paris Saint-Germain.

Both of those additions - alongside Dutch star Cody Gakpo and teenage wonderkid Rio Ngumoha - would prefer to line up down the left. Efforts were made to fill Salah’s boots, with bids tabled for Minteh and Crystal Palace star Ismaila Sarr.

Brighton are said to have knocked back £50m ($67m) and £60m ($80m), as they hold out for closer to £70m ($94m), and Minteh is yet to figure for Fabian Hurzeler’s side in 2026-27 after suffering an ankle injury during pre-season that required surgery.

It may be that Liverpool ask questions again in January, as their obvious needs are not going away, with ex-Seagulls striker Zamora - who was speaking in association with BetWright Premier League betting - telling GOAL when asked if he sees an agreement being reached: “Possibly.

“Everyone's different. Everyone reacts differently to these inquiries, these clubs that come in. Some say, ‘okay, dust it off, let me carry on playing my football’. Others are, ‘I really want to get there, I'll do anything to get there now’.

“And it depends on the agent, depends on the people that he's got around him as well. So, everyone's different but, yeah, Liverpool's still in need, and he's very direct. He gets the ball into the box. He would suit them. I do think he would suit them, but Brighton won't just let somebody go for nothing.

“You've seen that they get good value for all of their players that they sell on. So, the number has to be right for Brighton, firstly. And hopefully that number is right. And listen, hopefully he goes, if that's where he wants to go.

“Brighton have a way of churning out more and more players, and you can see that. Yankuba's not been there recently, but the lads that have come in have all done a great job.”

Hurzeler has said of Minteh’s situation: “If the whole team is successful and the individual shines then Yankuba will get a lot of attention again and he can then maybe fulfil his dream in the next transfer window.

“He wears the Brighton colours, he wears the Brighton badge. He has been with us for two years now as part of the squad. He has achieved great things together with the boys. It's also about him now to commit.

“In the end, we always say we want to be successful as a club and then you can shine as individuals. That is what we have proved in the past. If we achieve things together, the attention will come to the individual players and that will be the case also this season.”

Brighton signed Minteh from Newcastle for £30m ($40m) in the summer of 2024. He has registered 10 goals for the club through 73 appearances, with his Premier League pedigree now beyond question.

A healthy profit will be made if a sale is sanctioned - much like Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella, Joao Pedro and Alexis Mac Allister before him - but Liverpool will need to dig a little deeper if they really want to raid a domestic rival for a man that could follow in Salah’s record-shattering footsteps.