Liverpool's Search for Wingers: Barcola and Minteh Insights
Liverpool’s search for a new winger is starting to look like a high‑stakes juggling act. Bradley Barcola remains the name circled in red at the top of the list, but the obstacles in front of that deal are growing by the week – and a £70m alternative is moving rapidly into focus.
Barcola: The A‑List Target With A Record-Size Price Tag
Bradley Barcola has spent the summer on the biggest stage of all, part of a France attack that has rattled in 16 goals in six World Cup matches. With Spain waiting in the semi-finals, he is still fighting for a starting shirt, even at international level, against club team-mate Desire Doué.
When that tournament ends, though, the spotlight swings back to Paris.
Sources have already indicated that Barcola is open to leaving PSG. His minutes under Luis Enrique have shrunk, and with the European champions chasing Yan Diomande and Maghnes Akliouche, the competition for attacking roles is only tightening. Barcola has paused talks over a contract that runs for just two more years, a move that always sharpens boardroom attention.
That stance could push PSG towards a reluctant sale. But not a cheap one.
The French club are expected to demand a fee beyond the current British transfer record if they are to part with the 23‑year‑old, a figure that instantly turns any pursuit into a financial arm wrestle. Liverpool know they would not be alone at the table either. Arsenal, the reigning Premier League champions, are heavily involved.
Daily Mail journalist Lewis Steele revealed over the weekend that the Gunners believe they are at the front of the queue.
“Arsenal seem very hot on Morgan Rogers. Can they afford both of him and Bradley Barcola? I’m not sure,” Steele said. He added that a contact “around Arsenal” feels the club are “top of the race” for Barcola, even if there is still no guarantee PSG actually cash in this summer.
Liverpool, though, are not walking away. They cannot rule themselves out, but they also cannot wait forever. With Diomande already having slipped through their fingers, the recruitment team, led by sporting director Richard Hughes, has had to widen the search. And that is where the £70m name comes in.
Minteh Moves Up The List
Yankuba Minteh is no longer just a line on a longlist. According to talkSPORT, Liverpool are now seriously considering a move for the Brighton winger and are plotting a firm approach for the 21‑year‑old.
The Gambian international has been on Liverpool’s radar for some time. He was flagged as a target as far back as June 2024, when it emerged that the Brighton man had caught the eye of FSG’s recruitment department. By late June this year, he was one of six winger options under review. Now he is edging towards the top of that pile.
Minteh’s reputation rests on raw weapons: pace and threat. He has been described as “lightning quick” and “extremely dangerous,” the sort of wide forward who stretches defences and forces full-backs to turn towards their own goal.
Brighton, however, are rarely easy sellers. They are open to moving on key players, but only at their price. Their track record in negotiations suggests Liverpool would have to push deep into their budget to get Minteh out of the Amex.
Journalist David Lynch believes the effort might be worth it. Assessing Liverpool’s wing options – including Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Said El Mala – he admitted Minteh is the one he keeps coming back to.
“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 said. For him, the fit is the key. “Minteh is probably a better profile fit, obviously a left footer on the right-hand side, with Premier League experience.”
The numbers from last season do not leap off the page: seven goal contributions – three goals and four assists – in 34 appearances across the 2025/26 campaign. Lynch accepts that is modest output, but he points to context.
“He didn’t have a great season last season in terms of output,” he conceded, before suggesting Brighton’s approach might be part of the problem. Minteh, he argued, is “pushed out quite wide rather than getting into goal-scoring central positions.”
At Liverpool, under new head coach Andoni Iraola, that could change fast.
Iraola’s System And The Minteh Question
Iraola’s football is built on intensity, verticality and aggressive wide play. It is not hard to see why Minteh appeals. A left-footed right winger with blistering speed, a strong defensive work rate and Premier League experience ticks a lot of boxes for a side that may soon have to reshape its attack.
Lynch is convinced that the system could unlock a different version of Minteh.
“I think in a kind of Iraola system, I can easily see how his numbers would upscale,” he said. “He also works incredibly hard off the ball. His defensive numbers are great.”
That last point matters. Liverpool’s wide forwards are expected to press, track, and contribute without the ball as much as they do with it. Minteh’s willingness to graft could make the transition smoother and shorten the bedding-in period.
Even so, Lynch is clear about his own preference.
“I think it’s tough pickings really,” he admitted when weighing up Liverpool’s alternatives to Diomande. “That’s why I’m really wedded to the idea that you go and get Barcola if you can. But if they had to move down the list, I think he [Minteh] would be quite high up for me.”
That is the equation Liverpool now face: chase the elite, record-fee talent in Barcola, or move decisively for a £70m winger whose ceiling they believe Iraola can raise.
Bigger Picture: Salah, Mexico And A Summer Of Decisions
All of this unfolds against a wider backdrop of uncertainty in Liverpool’s forward line.
A new, surprise contender has reportedly entered the race to sign club legend Mohamed Salah. With interest from Saudi Arabia and Major League Soccer already well established, a move away from Anfield is no longer a distant theory. It is a live possibility.
At the same time, the club’s attempts to land a £34m-rated Mexico sensation are said to be facing “complications,” even though there has already been “contact” over a potential deal.
Hughes and his recruitment team, then, are working on several fronts at once. Barcola at the top end of the market. Minteh as a serious, system-ready option. Other young talents under consideration. All while the future of Salah – the defining forward of the club’s modern era – hangs in the balance.
Liverpool want a winger who can shape the next cycle at Anfield. The question now is whether they pay record-breaking money for the finished article, or back Iraola to turn raw speed and promise into their next star wide man.
