Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh names former Liverpool player as his idol after missing out on Anfield move

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Liverpool watched on as Yankuba Minteh secured a move to Brighton from Newcastle.

Minteh never ended up playing a single game for Newcastle, yet has joined Brighton in a deal worth as much as £33m.

The high price of the transfer is reflective in how the 19-year-old performed under Arne Slot at Feyenoord last season.

Minteh was so good in Rotterdam that the Reds were even said to be in for him. With Newcastle looking to sell before Sunday’s PSR deadline, Liverpool were linked with a move for Minteh.

With Brighton seeming like a good place for the Gambian to announce himself in the Premier League, Liverpool will no doubt keep track of how Minteh gets on.

Yankuba Minteh reveals Sadio Mane inspiration

As Liverpool continue to look for a new forward this summer, most supporters would perhaps have preferred Anthony Gordon to Minteh.

Gordon was heavily linked with Liverpool as Newcastle struggled to comply with financial rules for the PSR deadline on Sunday.

There does still reportedly remain a chance that Gordon could join Liverpool, but for Minteh that opportunity has gone.

On paper, the teenager is perhaps someone that Slot could do with having in his squad even more than Gordon. The Reds have plenty of right-footed forwards, but only really one left-footer.

READ MORE: What Liverpool insiders really feel about signing Anthony Gordon

That man is of course Mohamed Salah. Had Minteh come in, he could have been a natural successor to the Egyptian.

However, speaking to Brighton’s TikTok channel during his unveiling on Monday, the young forward admitted that he preferred former Liverpool winger Sadio Mane to Salah.

Minteh was asked to stay silent until he heard the name of his favourite ever Premier League player from Africa. As a voice behind the camera rattles off players like Michael Essien, Riyad Mahrez and Didier Drogba the youngster keeps quiet.

Salah’s name also whizzes past without a reaction, before Mane gets the nod. “Yeah, he’s my inspiration!” smiles Minteh.

What’s going on with Sadio Mane?

It is no real surprise to hear Minteh name Mane as his idol. As a left-footed, right-sided forward Salah was surely in the picture for the Gambia international, but Mane won out.

The Senegal legend inspired a whole generation with his performances for Liverpool and has a claim to be the best African player England has ever seen.

Despite his enormous reputation though, Mane has struggled since leaving Merseyside in 2022.

Having put a poor spell at Bayern Munich behind him and joined Al Nassr last summer, Mane could now be on the move yet again.

According to The Daily Mail, the 32-year-old’s club are reportedly listening to offers for him this summer.

It isn’t normally the way they do things, but maybe Brighton might consider bringing Mane back to the Premier League to help their new signing.