Liverpool thought they had their perfect Salah replacement - and they still might

Liverpool thought they had their perfect Salah replacement - and they still might Make us your Google favourite Liverpool thought they had secured a deal to sign Brighton ’s Yankuba Minteh as their long-term replacement for Mohamed Salah – but the transfer fell through at the last moment for an unexpected reason. The Reds spent much of the summer scouring the market for a replacement for Salah, whose departure had been announced weeks before the end of the season. It therefore came as something of a surprise that no deal was done to replace the Egyptian. Several different options have been used on the right by Andoni Iraola, the latest of which was Bradley Barcola, a player signed for €125 million from PSG this summer but who is more accustomed to playing off the left. There is naturally a question mark over who will fill the role on a long-term basis, and the answer still seems to be a new face. Liverpool thought they had their man – but they may revisit the deal Liverpool bosses, though, had planned for Minteh to join the squad this summer, with the deal having been all but complete on Deadline Day, according to broadcaster Sport Switzerland transfer insider Sacha Tavolieri. He reports that the Anfield side were ready to complete a deal “in the very last hours” of the transfer window only for an injury to derail the move. “Liverpool obviously didn't want to risk completing a major signing for a player whose fitness had suddenly become a question mark. The timing is cruel for the player because, just hours earlier, his future could still have been at Anfield,” he reports. Minteh has a world-class ceiling Liverpool wanted to sign Minteh for “his explosiveness, his ability to beat defenders, and his potential for development”, according to Tavolieri. He was not necessarily being earmarked for what he could produce this season or perhaps even next, but for the long term. And the numbers from leading data analytics firm SciSports would appear to back that belief up. Minteh, if he arrived at Liverpool instantly, would be one of the Reds’ leading players with a SciSkill rating based on hundreds of in-game data points of 111.5. But his potential is far higher. The Gambia international has a potential SciSkill of 140.1. If he were already at that level, he would be ranked as the second-best player in the world ahead of the likes of Lamine Yamal and Michael Olise. Only former Liverpool star Luis Diaz at Bayern Munich has a better rating according to SciSports’ algorithm. Among right wingers, Minteh’s potential is only eclipsed by Yamal, who is expected to improve on his current rating, Michael Olise and Lennart Karl. Right wingers with highest potential ceiling (SciSports) NameClubSciSkillPotential1Lamine YamalBarcelona135.3174.42Michael OliseBayern Munich134.8151.63Lennart KarlBayern Munich90.8141.54Yankuba MintehBrighton111.5140.15Arda GulerReal Madrid111.1138.9 Minteh to Liverpool in January is ‘very, very possible’ But there is still a distinct possibility that Liverpool follow the deal up. Gambian journalist Foday Manneh explained : “The only thing that is there is the possibility of Liverpool coming back for him in January. It’s still not ruled out. It only depends on how soon he can recover and come back. One or two games can convince Liverpool again that this is the player we are looking for and then they can make a move. “Because Gakpo leaving Liverpool in January is still a possibility. So, if Gakpo leaves Liverpool in January, then Yankuba can be the player they can turn to. “They can come back and then see whether they can get him. That depends on if Yankuba could return to football very soon and play that good two or three games. Once he does that, Liverpool coming back in January is very, very possible.” Missing out on Minteh, therefore, is a significant setback for Liverpool, but the message is that the deal is not dead yet.