Not Olise: Liverpool could’ve signed Mo Salah successor for £30m; now he’ll reportedly cost over £100m

Liverpool could look to sign Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh should they fail in their pursuit of Michael Olise.

The Seagulls star is understood to be an appreciated quantity at Anfield, with the Reds expected to invest in their wings this coming summer.

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The 21-year-old has registered one goal and four assists in 27 appearances (across all competitions) for Fabian Hürzeler’s men this term.

* Yankuba Minteh’s stats in all competitions for Brighton (Transfermarkt)

Michael Olise is top of the list but Bayern don’t want to sell

It has to be emphasised that, at present, Olise is considered an ‘unrealistic target’, according to transfer news insider Fabrizio Romano.

“Yeah, always many links about this one because, yes, it’s true that Liverpool appreciates Olise, but who doesn’t like Olise? I mean, he’s one of the best players in the world,” the well-connected reporter spoke on the Here We Go podcast.

“He’s doing fantastic at Bayern, so obviously many links with Liverpool because Liverpool will add players on the winger position.

“So Liverpool will do something there. Could be one, could be two, we will see. But at the moment, Michael Olise is seen as an unrealistic target because he doesn’t have a release clause, and also because Bayern absolutely want to keep Olise.”

Without a release clause in play, signing the Frenchman does, admittedly, become somewhat complicated.

FC Bayern, after all, aren’t obligated to sell a player who will still have three years left running on a deal that expires in 2029.

More to the point, it would take a mammoth fee – not to mention a mammoth effort from the player – to prise the right-sided winger out of the Allianz Arena in the upcoming summer transfer window.

Yankuba Minteh is an easier buy for Liverpool

Liverpool haven’t always been quick to bail out of a transfer due to the difficulty, of course. They fought hard to seal two world-class signings in Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz last summer – both deals that carried their own unique complexities.

Yankuba Minteh has carried the ball into the opposition’s penalty area 61 times in the Premier League this season, only Jérémy Doku has more (63).

One to watch this summer. pic.twitter.com/zKbLh73UPe

— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) March 10, 2026

However, given the pressing need to add pace to both wings, we can ill afford to see the club miss out on the opportunity this summer.

In which case, we’d highly recommend Brighton’s pacy wideman. One might suspect Arne Slot may also push the option of Yankuba Minteh, having previously managed the player at Feyenoord.

But that’s not to suggest the deal will be financially simple; Footy Africa previously claimed the Reds were prepared to fork out in excess of £100m to sign the winger.

To tell you the truth, we don’t think it’ll come anywhere near close to that, with Brighton’s struggles this term hardly enabling Minteh to prove that he’s worthy of an asking price in that ballpark.

Transfermarkt currently value the left-footed Gambian at £34.6m. We suspect Brighton will be looking for a fee in the region of £50m-60m.

Yes, this is a player we could have signed for £30m back when Newcastle were looking to shed weight in 2024. But it’s still a drop in the ocean if Liverpool genuinely believe he has the potential to succeed the legendary Mo Salah on the right wing.

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