Minteh, Slot and life after Salah: The surprise winger who could be Liverpool’s next world beater

Robin Bairner

• 13 Mar 2026 13:07 CDT
• 5 min read

Analysis

Yankuba Minteh has emerged as a rumoured target for Liverpool, not because there is confirmed concrete interest in the Brighton winger, but simply because it makes sense. Here’s why it works.

Liverpool find themselves on the hunt for a wideman to replace Mohamed Salah this summer.

The Egypt international’s form has dropped by an alarming level over the course of the season, and with the 33-year-old having long planned to make his exit in 2026, it’s now the final months of an era at Anfield.

Finding a replacement for Salah is, of course, no easy task. At his peak, the Egypt international was the best player in the world – even if it was not recognised by a Ballon d’Or victory – while his longevity with the Reds has etched him into the heart of fans of the Premier League giants.

With just one Premier League goal this season, Minteh might not immediately stand out as an obvious replacement for such a prolific figure, yet there’s a lot to like about the deal.

Minteh to Liverpool: The origin of the rumour

The most recent resurgence of Minteh’s rumoured move to Liverpool can be traced back to a piece on Fabrizio Romano playing down the Reds’ ability to sign Michael Olise from Bayern Munich.

The story on TeamTalk cited a thought piece from Empire of the Kop suggesting that the Brighton man be a strong alternative.

Somehow, the two pieces became conflated, and certain sources have quoted Liverpool’s interest in Minteh as having come from Romano.

That is not the case: there is nothing concrete behind the transfer for the moment.

Slot’s admiration for Minteh

A deal, though, does have its obvious attractions, particularly for Liverpool manager Arne Slot.

The Dutchman has worked with Minteh previously during a loan stint at Feyenoord. With 10 goals in 27 games, that represents a career-best season for the Gambia international.

Speaking at the time, Slot said: “He certainly doesn’t lack self-confidence. His willingness to give everything is enormous. When we see his statistics, it is really impressive. Minteh ran more sprint meters against Ajax in an hour than many players in the two games. He is incredibly fast. And he wants it so badly.”

It was a combination that worked perfectly, as Eredivisie expert Milan Keskin explains to FootballTransfers: “Minteh joined Feyenoord on loan from Newcastle United at 18, after Feyenoord failed to sign him directly from OB.

“At first, nobody really expected Minteh to succeed at Feyenoord, but he quickly became a fan favourite.

“Arne Slot showed a lot of trust in him, and it paid off. Everyone hoped Minteh would stay at Feyenoord longer, but deep down everyone knew that was unrealistic given his huge talent.

“Slot played a big role in his development. Without Slot, Minteh might not even have ended up playing in the Premier League.”

Best in the world potential

That talent has the potential to lead Minteh along the same path as Salah: one that could make him the best player in the world.

Data analytics firm SciSports gives him a potential Skill of 94.9. This is a figure calculated from hundreds of in-game data points and is higher than that of Bayern Munich’s Luis Diaz, who holds the current best of 94.8.

To put this figure further into an immediate Liverpool context, Florian Wirtz is currently the top-rated player at Anfield on 84.0 with a ceiling of 95.5. Salah, meanwhile, sits on 81.3.

Slot needs to make changes to get the best from Minteh

While SciSports is optimistic about Minteh’s potential, there are serious doubts over whether the current environment at Liverpool is right for him.

Its Career Advice tool scores teams based on a variety of metrics from development and game time to playing style and formation. Liverpool score a modest 66 here.

While this figure should be taken with something of a pinch of salt given that it fails to factor Salah’s departure, which would naturally affect playing time, it scores the Reds just one star for playing style and two for formation.

If the Slot and Minteh marriage at Liverpool were to be a successful one, the Anfield boss would have to look into making changes to accommodate the young winger. Given his potential, though, this may just be worth his while.

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