Brighton Coach Fabian Hurzeler's Message to Yankuba Minteh Amid Liverpool Interest
Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler has delivered a pointed message to Yankuba Minteh and a gentle reminder to Liverpool: this saga isn’t over, but the winger needs to think hard before walking away from what he already has.
Liverpool, still reshaping their attack after Mohamed Salah’s departure ended a glittering nine-year spell at Anfield, are hunting for fresh spark out wide. A £120m agreement with PSG for Bradley Barcola has given their frontline a major injection of talent. Now attention on Merseyside has swung to the second winger Andoni Iraola wants.
For that role, Minteh is high on the list.
Liverpool opened talks with Brighton after deciding not to meet PSG’s demands for another wantaway player, Ibrahim Mbaye. Two bids went in for Minteh, the second breaking the £60m barrier. Brighton’s response was blunt: rejected. The Seagulls then stunned Liverpool with an £80m valuation, a figure the Anfield hierarchy view as excessive and which appeared to cool negotiations.
Hurzeler, though, is not acting like a manager who believes the door has closed.
“Rumours. Rumours. Let’s see what happens,” he said in his press conference, batting away the noise but not denying the chase. He framed Minteh’s rise as the product of a collective, not a solo act.
“He benefits, for example, from the hard work of Pascal [Gross], hard work from Jack Hinshelwood, hard work from all the other players. And he knows it.
“Therefore I also think it’s important to understand as a player what you have here, playing for a club like Brighton.”
This was more than a routine media line. It sounded like a manager trying to anchor a young player in reality.
“You have a club that gives you the chance, you team-mates who are really trying to push you, you have a club that is there for you also in tough moments,” Hurzeler added, pointing to the journeys of Minteh and former Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba, now at Manchester United.
“Carlos Baleba had so many tough moments when he was here; Minteh also had tough moments, but we were always there for them, always tried to help them; their teammates are there for them.”
Hurzeler accepts Brighton’s status as a selling club. That doesn’t mean he wants to roll over.
“So I think it’s also important for the players to understand what they have here with this club, how the fans are connected, how we are working together,” he said. “It’s difficult to find a similar environment, or better environment, for potential young players.
“But the same with Minteh, we were successful as a team; that brings attention to him, so let’s see what happens.
“If you ask me if I’ll try to convince him to stay, yes, I try to convince him to stay. But can I control everything? No, I can’t control everything.”
That line captured the reality of Brighton’s model. They develop, they sell, they go again. Yet Hurzeler’s next words suggested Liverpool’s pursuit is still alive and that a compromise might yet be found.
“From my perspective, Minteh, he’s a Brighton player; he needs to commit to this club,” he said. “Because he knows that these rumours only come because he benefits from everything here.
“From how he’s been worked with, how he’s been protected from everyone, how he’s been developed. So I think that’s also important for him.
“Then in the end, we all know, everyone knows, how the football business works. Let’s see the ideas from Liverpool.
“We have a clear idea how we want to go forward, but we have a lot of things in our hands regarding this player.
“But in the end, there’s Tony [Bloom, owner], there’s Paul [Barber, CEO], together with them we try to make the right decision.”
One wide option has already dropped off Liverpool’s radar. Ismaila Sarr will not be heading to Anfield, with sources downplaying claims of a rejected bid and clarifying the background to those surprise links.
So the picture is sharp. Barcola is in line to arrive. Minteh remains a live target, even at a stand-off price. And if Liverpool do manage to prise the Gambian away from the south coast to join the Frenchman, the knock-on effect could be brutal for Cody Gakpo’s prospects at Anfield.
For Minteh, the choice is looming: stay where he is cherished and central to the project, or gamble on becoming the next big piece in Liverpool’s rebuilt attack.
