According to reports, Liverpool signing Yankuba Minteh in January depends on two conditions, while the Reds have ‘forced Chelsea into a new plan’.
Liverpool‘s transfer plans in the summer were centred on strengthening their attack following Mohamed Salah’s exit.
The Reds missed out on Yan Diomande, but they were rewarded for their patience with Bradley Barcola, who completed his move to Anfield from PSG with just over a day of the transfer window remaining.
Barcola was the fourth player to join Liverpool’s squad in the summer after Jeremy Jacquet, Ronald Araujo and Victor Munoz, but they arguably needed more signings.
Liverpool could have done with signing a striker, midfielder and/or full-back, while they wanted to land another winger after Barcola.
READ: ‘Klopp vibes’ about Liverpool after best performance for a year
However, this depended on Cody Gakpo leaving to raise funds, and Liverpool ultimately decided to keep him amid interest from Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Liverpool’s options to replace Gakpo included Minteh and Ismaila Sarr, but the Premier League giants refused to meet their asking prices for either player.
Still, Liverpool could yet return for Minteh or Sarr in January or next summer, and a new report from journalist Pete O’Rourke for Football Insider claims they ‘remain interested in agreeing a deal’ to sign the Brighton winger.
Yankuba Minteh to Liverpool hinges on two conditions as Malo Gusto update emerges
O’Rourke has also noted that this transfer depends on how Barcola settles and whether Gakpo or Munoz earn the spot as Liverpool’s No.1 right-winger.
He explained: “Liverpool will be looking at a number of targets in January if they are planning to bring in a new right-sided attacker, somebody to fill the void of Mohamed Salah.
“I’m sure they’ll be keeping tabs on Yankuba Minteh’s situation at Brighton, they made a couple of bids for him that were rejected.
“A lot will depend on what Liverpool do between now and January, if Barcola comes in and hits the ground running and maybe they find a solution to that right wing position, whether that’s Cody Gakpo or Victor Munoz, then they might not need to bring in that right-sided attacker.”
Chelsea star Malo Gusto was another player linked with Liverpool in the summer, and a different report from Football Insider and O’Rourke claims this interest has ‘forced’ the Blues ‘into a new plan’ for the versatile defender, who could ease Xabi Alonso’s midfield headache.
O’Rourke claimed: “Chelsea were happy to keep Malo Gusto, and look, he is probably going to be needed now, because they didn’t bring in a midfielder following Enzo Fernandez’s big money move to Manchester City and Gusto found himself playing in midfield against Brighton last weekend when there was other midfield options available to Xabi Alonso.
“I think he’s going to play a key role for Alonso’s side, whether that be at right wing-back, or even possibly filling in in midfield if Chelsea are short in that area.”
READ NEXT: Romano reveals huge Liverpool transfer boost as ‘furious’ Chelsea hand Camara over