Liverpool will bid £70m to £80m for realistic forward target very soon | OneFootball

Liverpool are still searching for their successor to Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian King, 34, was allowed to leave following an agreement to rip up his £400k contract one year early. But sporting director Richard Hughes is very much on the back foot regarding a new forward - because Yan Diomande is no longer approachable.

The outgoing Premier League champions were rebuffed in their attempts to land the Ivorian from RB Leipzig with a preference since expressed about favouring a move to Paris Saint-Germain.

That development leaves Liverpool shopping on their alternate list of targets - which includes Bradley Barcola, Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Said El Mala.

Yankuba Minteh is a realistic target

One more player reported to feature on that list is Yankuba Minteh. The 21-year-old Brighton attacker is seen as a successor to Salah inside Anfield - and a bid is coming imminently.

That’s according to a new report on TEAMtalk - which claims the Merseysiders will have to pay £70m to £80m to land the Gambia international.

Brighton want £70m to £80m for Minteh deal

“The 21-year-old Gambian international has re-emerged as a realistic target for the Reds, who are actively exploring options to strengthen their forward line after finding it difficult to land primary targets, such as RB Leipzig sensation Yan Diomande,” the report reads.

“[Minteh] is viewed by Liverpool as someone who could succeed Mo Salah in the long-term.

“The Seagulls view Minteh as one of the Premier League’s most exciting young prospects and are determined to extract a fee in the region of £70-80 million. They point to Anthony Gordon’s recent move to Barcelona as a yardstick.

“Proactive action on a new winger is expected over the next fortnight. They could submit a concrete bid in the next two weeks."

Yankuba Minteh: Situation summary

Yankuba Minteh is a pure inside‑forward profile: a left‑footed, hyper‑direct wide attacker who wants to receive wide, drive straight at his full‑back and either cut inside to shoot or punch vertical passes into runners.

His game is built on explosiveness, short‑area dribbling and constant 1v1 aggression, making him a transition weapon who can also destabilise set defences simply through repetition of those high‑risk carries.

Born in Bakoteh, Gambia in July 2004, Minteh moved from Steve Biko to Odense before Newcastle United bought him in 2023 for around £5–7m and immediately loaned him to Feyenoord.

A 10‑goal, 6‑assist Eredivisie season there pushed him into the broader European consciousness and, crucially, proved he could translate his raw tools into end product in a Champions League‑level environment.

Newcastle’s Profit & Sustainability squeeze in 2024 turned him into a saleable asset, with Brighton agreeing a fee in the £30–33m/€39m region and handing him a five‑year deal through 2029.

For Brighton, that outlay was framed as paying for both present value and upside, slotting him into their familiar “develop and potentially sell on” lane but with scope to be a long‑term starter rather than a short‑term flip.

Minteh now sits in the bracket of wide forwards whose raw output and ceiling point towards a future Champions League move if his numbers continue to climb.

Whether that’s an internal Premier League ladder step or a jump to a continental giant will likely hinge on how quickly he refines decision‑making and final‑third choices; if those improve, he has the athletic and technical profile to justify top‑end interest.