Liverpool's Winger Hunt: Diomande or Budget Alternative Minteh

Liverpool’s winger hunt has a clear headline act and a cut‑price understudy, and the gap between the two is measured in tens of millions.

With Mohamed Salah gone after nine glittering years at Anfield, the club’s summer transfer strategy has narrowed to one priority: find the next man to own that right flank. At the top of the list sits RB Leipzig’s explosive wide forward Diomande, a player the recruitment team clearly view as the marquee successor.

The problem is the price.

Leipzig are holding firm at around €130million (£112m), a figure that would put Diomande among the most expensive signings in Liverpool’s history. There are growing indications inside the club that they may not be willing to go that high, even for a player whose reputation is soaring on the back of his performances for Ivory Coast at the World Cup.

That’s where Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh comes into sharp focus.

Minteh the budget alternative

If Liverpool decide the Diomande fee is simply too steep, Minteh is expected to be one of the first names they turn to. The Brighton winger has been identified as a serious alternative, and crucially, one who fits within a far more palatable financial bracket.

Liverpool are understood to have earmarked around £40million for a potential move for Minteh. On the current numbers, that’s £72million less than Diomande would cost. For a club that still prides itself on smart, value‑driven deals, that difference is enormous.

Minteh offers a profile that appeals to Andoni Iraola: direct, quick, dangerous in one‑v‑one situations. He may not yet carry Diomande’s global sheen, but in pure stylistic terms he ticks several of the same boxes. For a new manager trying to reshape the attack without tearing up the wage structure, the Brighton man looks like a tailor‑made “project” signing.

Liverpool still pushing hard for Diomande

Yet the sense around Anfield is that Diomande remains the dream. Those close to the negotiations insist Liverpool are not walking away.

Sources suggest confidence is actually growing that the Leipzig star wants the move. The club have been working intensely on the player side of the deal, selling him a detailed vision of his role in the new era at Liverpool. He has been told he is viewed as Salah’s long‑term heir, the man to carry the goals, the chaos and the aura on that right wing.

That pitch has landed. Diomande is said to be excited by the idea of becoming one of the faces of Liverpool’s next cycle.

Talks have accelerated since Iraola’s arrival, with Liverpool already seeing a £90million bid rejected. Rather than cooling their interest, that setback has only sharpened their determination. The strategy now is clear: keep Diomande onside, keep the pressure on Leipzig, and hope the player himself eventually pushes for the move.

Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has echoed that picture, outlining how Liverpool are focusing on convincing Diomande to tell Leipzig he wants Anfield. The club believe that once that stance is formalised, the path to a deal will look far less obstructed.

For now, Diomande remains the headline pursuit and Minteh the shrewd, budget‑friendly alternative. The choice, in the end, may come down to how far Liverpool are willing to stretch to crown their post‑Salah rebuild with a statement signing.