Liverpool signal intent to give up and quit on £130m deal | OneFootball

Liverpool appear set to quit on a £130m deal that could have made waves. They may regret this - massively.

Liverpool need a right-winger. That was obvious the moment it was decided Mohamed Salah would leave the club, given there was absolutely no one in position to take his place.

And yet here we are, with one week left to run in the transfer window and months after Salah's exit was confirmed, without a replacement. Liverpool simply haven't got a deal done for one.

Now, part of that was failing to land Yan Diomande. The Ivorian was the no.1 pick but rejected a move to Anfield in favour of Paris Saint-Germain (and then Real Madrid). The World Cup was also a factor, delaying many moves for a month.

The bigger problem, though, is that we're not even sure who Liverpool want. It's currently Yankuba Minteh but he's a player they've turned to as a last resort. It's not like the World Cup delayed any move for the Gambian, nor have Brighton been completely against a sale.

But that's the player Liverpool are currently bidding for. They want to add Minteh and have already seen a couple of bids rejected for him.

Now Ben Jacobs claims, talking for Talksport, that a third bid will likely happen soon. Liverpool are ready to sign the player, in other words, should Brighton let them.

But there is an extra layer to this. By signing Minteh, i.e. someone who you intend to develop and play regularly, you forgo a chance at signing the real must-sign winger.

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It's all about Rayan

There is a winger everyone should want and it's absolutely Rayan. He's the young phenomenon set to move again in 2027, having joined Bournemouth in January.

And the Cherries always knew he wouldn't stick around for long. They signed him with a £130m release clause in his contract, per the Athletic, and we do expect someone will trigger that.

After all, Rayan is special. Very special.

The Brazilian was, per our model, the 4th most valuable player in Brazil for 2025. Doing that at 18 is ridiculous, quite frankly, and it's ultimately why Bournemouth took such a chance on him - and chucked that release clause in there.

He then moved to the Premier League and lived up to the hype. Again per our model, Rayan was the 22nd most valuable winger in the Premier League last season.

That sounds pretty average until you weigh in that he only actually played half a season. On a per 90 basis, he's in a group of teenage wingers who stole the show last season: Lamine Yamal, Said El Mala and Yan Diomande being the others.

Rayan is of that quality. He also plays on the correct side (as opposed to El Mala) and is available to buy. That £130m almost certainly gets paid in 2027 and while it has 'Chelsea' written all over it, Liverpool should be strongly considering it.

But signing Minteh rules it out. You can't be spending £200m on both. This is now the time to choose - and we're not sure Liverpool are making the best long-term move.