Insider who broke Minteh news reveals ONE thing stopped Liverpool signing – not the price
Foday Manneh, the Gambian journalist who broke news on Liverpool and Yankuba Minteh during the summer, has revealed the exact reason he wasn’t signed by the Reds – and it wasn’t the asking price.
The Reds ended the summer with two winger signings – Victor Munoz and Bradley Barcola. But they hunted for a few others before they landed the latter, with Brighton’s Minteh one of their favoured options.
After two bids, Liverpool were told it would take £80million to land him, and they decided against it.
But insider Manneh – who Fabrizio Romano cited as the first to news that the second bid had been turned away – has revealed it wasn’t the price that put them off.
He explained to Sport Witness: “Yes the injury I think even at the last days I can say some last hours of the transfer the injury was now the much concern to Liverpool, not even the asking price anymore.
“They were still exploring that they could go little beyond what they think they could pay. They explored again to say right now the player is injured how soon he will return and then start counting on him. That was the main challenge.
“No longer about price, it was about the injury, which was very, very significant. In the last few hours of the window, it really played a big part not convincing Liverpool to go fully.
“If it wasn’t for the injury, the Reds were willing now to raise their offer again and then go for the player considering the fact that they couldn’t have a much better option in the market.
“Yes, for me I think they could have gone for him fully if he wasn’t injured. If it wasn’t for the injury they would have got to even pay something around £72-75m. I’m not saying they could pay £80m, but I’m sure they would have got £72-75m for him, but the injury played a huge part, like I said, significantly.”
READ MORE: Vladimir Smicer tells Andoni Iraola whether Liverpool should sell Florian Wirtz to Bayern Munich
Stephen Warnock feels Liverpool may return for Yankuba Minteh
With Liverpool having pushed for Minteh in the summer, their former defender Stephen Warnock recently told TEAMtalk that the Reds might well return to him, particularly given how the window went.
He said: “Yankuba Minteh is an interesting one because you wonder whether they’d have really pushed for that move had he been fully fit.
“The funny thing is that they have known for so long about Salah leaving, but they still haven’t found a replacement. I always think you should be looking two or three seasons ahead; with injuries, dips in form, you’ve always got to be thinking about who is next in line.
“I just feel like Liverpool haven’t rectified that situation, and I find it absolutely incredible to be honest. I think they possibly will go back in for Minteh in January, but there might be someone else who pops up on the radar between now and then…”
