Liverpool's Ambitious Forward Line Revamp Before Deadline Day
Liverpool are trying to rip up their forward line in the final hours of the window – and they are dreaming big.
Bradley Barcola is almost through the door from Paris Saint-Germain, a marquee arrival lined up to headline their summer. But inside Anfield, attention has already shifted to what comes next. The club want another winger in before Tuesday’s 11pm deadline, a move that would trigger a major outgoing and reshape their attack.
If that signing lands, Cody Gakpo is expected to complete an £85m switch to Manchester City. The Dutchman had looked bound for Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the summer, only for City’s late intervention to turn his head towards the Etihad. Liverpool are prepared to let him go – but only once they have his replacement secured.
Sarr preferred, Minteh admired
That is where Ismaila Sarr and Yankuba Minteh come in.
Fabrizio Romano and other leading reporters say Liverpool are in talks with Crystal Palace over Sarr. GIVEMESPORT’s Ben Jacobs went further on Sunday night, revealing that the Senegal international is actively “pushing” Palace to sell him to Liverpool.
Jacobs reports that negotiations are running for both Sarr and Minteh, yet Liverpool’s preference is clear: they want Sarr. Palace’s stance remains firm, but the player’s pressure and the clock ticking down have injected tension into the deal.
Even if Liverpool get their man, the ambition does not stop there. Foot Mercato journalist El-Hadji Loum has claimed on X that, ideally, Liverpool also want Brighton’s Minteh before the window shuts. That is the dream scenario: Barcola, Sarr and Minteh, all in red by Wednesday morning.
Reality, as ever, might be harsher. Loum stresses it will come down to budget. Liverpool have already seen a £60m bid rejected for Minteh, and adding both him and Sarr in these final hours would push the total outlay north of £100m. For a club already committed to a huge fee for Barcola, that is a serious financial stretch.
Fixing an attack that’s lost its edge
The urgency is easy to understand.
Liverpool are coming off a flat 2025-26 campaign and have opened the new Premier League season with back-to-back draws against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest. The cutting edge that once terrified defences has dulled, especially after the departure of Mohamed Salah.
Right now, they do not look like the ruthless, relentless Liverpool of old.
Barcola, Sarr and Minteh would not fix every flaw, but they would change the feel of this team overnight. All three offer raw pace, direct running and the kind of vertical threat that stretches backlines and forces mistakes. Defenders would be dragged into wide duels, turned towards their own goal, and left scrambling in transition.
That chaos, in theory, would free space for Liverpool’s technicians to go to work. More room between the lines. More gaps for creative players – the club hope, for the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz if they arrive or develop into central figures – to dictate games.
Minteh, in particular, has already made people sit up. Senior sports writer Charlie Parker-Turner highlighted his display for Brighton, calling Kaoru Mitoma and Minteh “simply unstoppable” and noting how Georginio Rutter seemed to unlock both of them. It was the kind of performance that makes recruitment departments lean forward in their seats.
That is the profile Liverpool are chasing: explosive, fearless, and impossible to ignore.
A race against the clock – and the budget
So the equation is brutal in its simplicity. Liverpool want Sarr. They would love Minteh as well. They have Barcola almost done. They are ready to cash in on Gakpo once one more winger signs.
What stands between them and a reloaded front line is not desire, but money and time.
If they somehow find a way to squeeze both Sarr and Minteh into the budget before the window slams shut, Liverpool’s attack will look unrecognisable by the weekend. If they fall short, they risk entering another title race with the same questions hanging over their forwards.
The clock is ticking. Will Liverpool emerge from deadline day as a patched-up contender – or as an attacking force reborn?
