Liverpool's Barcola Pursuit Stalls as Minteh Emerges as Alternative
Liverpool’s summer search for a new right-sided winger is starting to look like a high‑stakes balancing act. At the top of the wish list remains Bradley Barcola, but the path to the PSG forward is littered with obstacles. So Richard Hughes is doing what smart sporting directors do: keeping the main prize in sight while quietly lining up the next move.
Barcola: The Dream Signing with a Record-Breaking Price Tag
Barcola has spent the summer on the biggest stage, part of a ferocious France attack that has rattled in 16 goals in six World Cup matches. He is battling club and country teammate Desire Doué for a starting spot in Tuesday’s semi-final against Spain, a selection fight that underlines just how crowded his immediate future looks.
Once France’s tournament ends, the spotlight swings back to Paris. Sources have already indicated that Barcola is open to leaving PSG, frustrated by shrinking minutes under Luis Enrique and wary of what comes next. The European champions are pushing to bring in Yan Diomande and Maghnes Akliouche, two more attacking options who would nudge Barcola further down the pecking order.
That looming congestion has triggered a stalemate over his contract. The 23‑year‑old has paused renewal talks, with his current deal running down towards its final two years. PSG, aware of both his value and his leverage, are not inclined to blink first.
Selling him would not come cheap. Far from it. Club sources insist they would demand a fee beyond the current British transfer record. Liverpool know that any move would drag them into a bidding war with Arsenal, who are already positioning themselves at the front of the queue.
Over the weekend, Daily Mail journalist Lewis Steele underlined that point. He reported that figures around Arsenal believe the Gunners are “top of the race” for Barcola, even as they weigh up a move for Morgan Rogers. The London club’s finances and title ambitions make them a formidable rival.
Steele stopped short of calling it a done deal. There is still no guarantee PSG will actually cash in, and no certainty Barcola will push hard enough to force the issue. Liverpool, then, remain in the conversation — but very much as hunters, not favourites.
So Hughes is widening the lens.
Minteh Moves Up the List
TalkSPORT now reports that Liverpool are giving serious thought to a move for Yankuba Minteh, the Brighton winger long admired at Anfield. The Gambia international has been on FSG’s radar since at least June 2024, when he first emerged as a name of interest.
Back then, he was one of six options being tracked. Now, he is moving into focus.
Minteh, 21, has been described as “lightning quick” and “extremely dangerous,” the sort of wide forward who can stretch a back line on his own. Liverpool are understood to be plotting a concrete approach, aware that the price could climb towards the £70m bracket as the market inflates around Premier League‑proven attackers.
Brighton, as ever, will not make it easy. They are open to selling their stars, but only on their terms. Clubs across Europe have learned the hard way that the Seagulls negotiate hard and rarely undersell.
Despite that, there is a growing sense among observers that Minteh fits what Liverpool want. Journalist David Lynch has weighed up the winger alongside Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Said El Mala and still keeps coming back to the Brighton man.
“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 admitted, highlighting profile over pure numbers. A left-footer operating from the right, with Premier League experience already banked, ticks several of Liverpool’s key boxes.
His raw output last season was modest: three goals and four assists in 34 appearances in the 2025/26 campaign. On paper, that is not the kind of return that usually triggers a £70m scramble.
Lynch’s argument is that the context matters. He believes Brighton’s structure keeps Minteh pinned wide, limiting his opportunities to attack central scoring zones. Shift him into a system that drives wingers into the box more often, and the numbers could change quickly.
Iraola’s System and the Appeal of Potential
That is where Andoni Iraola enters the picture. The new Liverpool manager wants intensity, verticality, wide players who can both run behind and press relentlessly. Minteh, in Lynch’s view, fits that blueprint.
“I think in a kind of Iraola system, I can easily see how his numbers would upscale,” he said, pointing to the winger’s off-the-ball work as another major plus. Minteh’s defensive metrics impress, and Liverpool still value forwards who can hunt the ball as fiercely as they chase goals.
This is not a perfect market, though. Liverpool have already been knocked back by Diomande and are now operating in a space where the ideal target, Barcola, may simply be too expensive and too contested. That tension shapes every conversation around their alternatives.
Lynch is clear on his own preference.
“I’m really wedded to the idea that you go and get Barcola if you can,” he said, making no secret of the hierarchy. But he also concedes that reality might intervene. If Liverpool are forced to move down their list, Minteh would be “quite high up” for him.
That feels like the mood at Anfield right now: aim for the marquee signing, be ready to pivot fast.
Big Decisions Beyond the Right Wing
All of this plays out against a wider backdrop of uncertainty in Liverpool’s forward line. Mohamed Salah, the club legend who has defined an era, is drawing fresh interest. A surprise new suitor has reportedly joined the chase for his signature, with a move to Saudi Arabia or Major League Soccer currently seen as the likeliest route if he does depart.
At the same time, the club is wrestling with “complications” in their attempt to land a £34m‑rated Mexico sensation, despite claims that contact has already been made over a deal. Even away from the Barcola and Minteh saga, the recruitment picture is far from straightforward.
So Liverpool stand at a familiar crossroads: pay whatever it takes to land the headline act, or trust their eye for potential and back a younger, less polished option to explode under a new coach.
Barcola remains the statement signing. Minteh, though, is edging into view as the kind of calculated gamble Liverpool have so often turned into a masterstroke.
