Liverpool Pursue Sarr and Minteh Amid Gakpo's City Move
Liverpool are trying to rip up their forward line in the final hours of the window – and they are dreaming big.
Bradley Barcola is expected to be unveiled as the club’s marquee summer signing from Paris Saint-Germain, but the France international is only part one of an aggressive late push at Anfield. Club sources and reporters close to the deal expect Barcola to be announced within hours, yet the recruitment drive out wide is not stopping there.
The plan is clear: land another winger before tomorrow’s 11pm deadline and clear the way for Cody Gakpo to join Manchester City in an £85m deal. Gakpo had looked bound for Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the summer, only for City’s late move to turn his head towards the Etihad.
That domino is now ready to fall. Liverpool just need the replacement pieces in place.
Sarr preferred as talks heat up
Crystal Palace winger Ismaila Sarr has moved to the front of the queue.
Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano and several other leading reporters say Liverpool are in talks with Palace over a late deal for the Senegal international. GIVEMESPORT’s senior correspondent Ben Jacobs reported on Sunday night that Sarr is actively pushing the Eagles to let him make the switch to Anfield.
Jacobs adds that Liverpool are keeping conversations alive for more than one wide option, but Sarr is the preferred target, even with Palace reluctant to lose him this late in the window.
If Liverpool do manage to break Palace’s resistance, the rebuild may not stop there.
Minteh still on the radar – but at a price
Foot Mercato journalist El-Hadji Loum claims on X that Liverpool’s ideal scenario would see Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh also arrive before the deadline. In other words, Barcola, Sarr and Minteh – three wingers in one window, two of them potentially in the final 36 hours.
The obstacle is obvious: money.
Loum stresses it will come down to budget. Liverpool have already seen a £60m offer for Minteh knocked back by Brighton, and securing both Sarr and Minteh now would push the total outlay comfortably beyond £100m in the closing stages of the window.
Ambitious? Absolutely. But after last season, Liverpool know they cannot stand still.
Fixing a blunted attack
The 2025-26 campaign left scars. Liverpool underwhelmed, and the new Premier League season has opened with back-to-back draws against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest. Two games, two points, and a team that no longer intimidates defences the way it once did.
Mohamed Salah’s exit ripped out the heart of their attack. The sharp edge has dulled. The goals and the chaos he brought have not yet been replaced.
Barcola, Sarr and Minteh would not replicate Salah on their own, but together they would change the temperature of Liverpool’s front line. All three offer explosive acceleration, direct running and a willingness to attack full-backs one-on-one – the kind of traits that stretch defensive blocks and create panic in transition.
That sort of movement also frees up space between the lines and in the half-spaces. The expectation inside the club is that more vertical threat out wide would open clearer channels for the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz to operate, giving Liverpool’s creative core more room to dictate.
Minteh making noise at Brighton
Minteh’s stock, in particular, has risen sharply.
Senior sports writer Charlie Parker-Turner highlighted just how dangerous the 19-year-old has looked at Brighton, picking out one standout performance: “Great win. Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh were simply unstoppable tonight. Georginio Rutter brings out the best in them both.”
That kind of praise reflects the growing feeling that Minteh is ready for a bigger stage. His raw pace and willingness to drive at defenders have given Premier League backlines serious problems already.
It is exactly the profile Liverpool and Andoni Iraola crave.
After a flat, frustrating season and a stuttering start to this one, the club is chasing an attacking “explosion of pace” to jolt the team back into genuine title contention. Barcola is almost in the door. Sarr is pushing for the move. Minteh is there if the numbers can somehow be made to work.
With the clock ticking towards Tuesday night, Liverpool’s hierarchy must decide: is this the moment to gamble big and rebuild the fear factor, or risk another year watching the title race from the outside?
