Liverpool's Pursuit of Ismaila Sarr as Minteh Deal Fizzles
Liverpool’s chase for a successor to Mohamed Salah has taken another sharp turn, with Ismaila Sarr emerging as a serious option after the club cooled their interest in Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh.
Liverpool walk away from Minteh deal
For weeks, Liverpool had zeroed in on Minteh. The winger, admired since Arne Slot’s time in charge at Feyenoord, looked a genuine candidate to become part of the post-Salah frontline.
Liverpool tested Brighton’s resolve with an opening bid of £50 million. Rebuffed. They went back with £60m. Still not enough.
Inside Anfield, the expectation was clear: Brighton would eventually deal at around £70m. Liverpool even weighed up a third offer in that region over recent days.
Then the price changed.
Multiple outlets, including Fabrizio Romano and Ben Jacobs, report that Brighton pushed their demand up to £80m during fresh talks. That figure has effectively frozen the move. Romano describes Liverpool as having “gone cold” on Minteh, with the club now turning their attention to “different options for the second winger” to go alongside Bradley Barcola.
The message is blunt: at £80m, Minteh is no longer the priority.
Sarr battle brewing as Palace dig in
One of those “different options” is a familiar Premier League menace. Ismaila Sarr, now at Crystal Palace, has tormented Liverpool before. Seven goals and two assists in 10 games against them, across his spells at Watford and Palace, tell their own story.
Turkish journalist Nevzat Dindar revealed on Saturday that Liverpool are interested in the Senegalese forward, though they are not alone. Galatasaray are pushing hard to sign him, with coach Okan Buruk said to be a major driving force behind the move due to Sarr’s versatility across the front line.
Dindar outlined the tension around the deal: Galatasaray are “extremely serious” about Sarr, Palace are equally determined not to sell, and the player himself wants out. Sarr was left out of the Palace squad at the weekend, with Dindar claiming his desire to leave was the reason.
Liverpool now hover over that situation, watching closely. So do Manchester United. As Galatasaray try to force a breakthrough, United have started monitoring developments, adding another heavyweight to the mix.
The numbers are already on the table. Sources indicate Palace want at least £50m for the Senegal international. Galatasaray, operating in a very different financial reality, are targeting a fee in the £30-43m range. That gap will decide whether this turns into a straight fight or a non-starter.
Liverpool supporters, for their part, would rather see Sarr at Anfield than lining up against them yet again.
Mbaye remains on the table
If Sarr is one path, Ibrahim Mbaye is another.
Liverpool have already done significant groundwork on the 18-year-old Paris Saint-Germain winger. A five-year contract has been agreed in principle, and talks have taken place with PSG over a transfer fee.
The problem is that nobody seems entirely sure what that fee should be. Reports vary wildly, from around £43m up to £60m. For a teenager still at the start of his senior career, that range matters.
Ben Jacobs, speaking on Tuesday, set out the current state of play across Liverpool’s winger targets. On Minteh, he explained that talks were held over the weekend and that a decision on whether to make a third bid was due on Tuesday. Brighton sources, he said, believe a £70m offer would seal the deal, with Liverpool internally discussing the idea of going to £65m. Any new offer, though, would likely be a “final bid” given the presence of alternatives such as Mbaye.
PSG, Jacobs added, want around €70m (£59.8m) for Mbaye – a valuation that effectively puts him in the same price bracket as Minteh. Two young wingers, two big fees, one slot in Liverpool’s forward line.
Inside that equation, one constant remains. The expectation, as Jacobs put it, is that Liverpool’s rebuild out wide ends with “Barcola plus one.”
Who that “one” is – Minteh, Sarr, Mbaye, or a new name entirely – will shape the next era of Liverpool’s attack.
