Liverpool see £60m transfer offer for Yankuba Minteh rejected by Brighton
Liverpool have seen a second offer for Yankuba Minteh turned down by Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Athletic reported on Thursday that Brighton had rejected a £50million ($68.1m) bid from the Merseyside club for the 22-year-old. This time an offer worth £60m has been knocked back.
It remains to be seen whether Andoni Iraola’s side return with an improved approach. Sources with knowledge of the south-coast club’s position, not authorised to speak publicly, indicate they are looking for closer to £70m.
Minteh is currently recovering from surgery on a right leg injury sustained in a 3-0 friendly win at home to Roma earlier this month. The issue will see him miss between two and three months of action.
The winger, who joined Brighton from Newcastle United in the summer of 2024, scored three goals and provided four assists in 36 games last season.
Liverpool have wanted to strengthen their forward ranks following a summer in which Mohamed Salah departed. They have already signed 23-year-old forward Victor Munoz from Osasuna.
They have been linked with Paris Saint-Germain forward Bradley Barcola for the majority of the transfer window but there remains a significant gap in the two clubs’ valuations of the France international.
Liverpool, who finished fifth in the Premier League last season, begin their 2026-27 campaign with a trip to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United on Sunday.
How would Minteh fit in at Liverpool?
Analysis by Liam Tharme
There’s a Mohamed Salah-shaped hole at Liverpool that, in one way or another, needs to be filled.
Signing Minteh would offer Andoni Iraola something of a profile match to the Egyptian winger. Minteh, a left-footer who does his best work from the right, packs plenty of pace and confidence to run at opposition defenders.
Last season he ranked fourth for dribbles in the Premier League (142 attempted, 45.8 per cent success), with only Jeremy Doku, Antoine Semenyo and Iliman Ndiaye putting up more. By this metric, Cody Gakpo was the top Liverpool player, but only attempted 88.
Minteh’s output can run frustratingly hot and cold, though having recently turned 22, the former Newcastle attacker is far from a fully-developed player. A return of three goals and four assists in 2025-26 was modest, including a six-month wait for a goal between September and March.
The winger scored three goals and provided four assists in 36 games for Brighton last season. (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
In the moments when Minteh shows variety, going outside defenders and using his right foot, and not just relying on cutting inside onto his dominant left foot, he can truly threaten opponents.
At times last season he played as a traditional left winger, filling in for the injured Kaoru Mitoma — he had a key role in Brighton’s winner at home to Liverpool in late March, with a whipped, low cross for Jack Hinshelwood, who squared the ball to Danny Welbeck. Likewise, a hard-hit Minteh cross from the left made a header for Welbeck away to Chelsea.
Iraola likes athletic players, particularly out wide, and the Gambia international was a favourite of Hurzeler’s partly because of his capacity to repeatedly sprint. Brighton lead the Premier League last term for final-third regains, and Minteh often led the press.