Liverpool's Right Wing Puzzle: Targets and the New Signing

Liverpool spent the final days of the transfer window scanning the market for a right-sided forward. On paper, they came up short. In reality, they may already have their answer.

Sporting director Richard Hughes pushed late, trying to prise Yankuba Minteh from Brighton and Ismaila Sarr from Crystal Palace. Both players were keen. Both clubs were not.

Brighton’s stance on Minteh was blunt: around £80 million or nothing. Palace drew a similar line in the sand for Sarr at roughly £75 million. For Liverpool, those numbers crossed the line from ambitious to reckless. The club decided those were not the sort of fees you pay without absolute certainty.

So the approach changed. Rather than gamble, Liverpool held their position. Cody Gakpo stayed at Anfield. In the cold light of day, that restraint looks like the smartest move they could have made.

The Minteh Question

Among supporters, Minteh was the name that sparked the most excitement. A Gambian winger with pace, flair and upside, he looked like the kind of project Liverpool have so often turned into a star.

But £80 million for a player still carving out his place in the elite game is a huge call. That alone gave Liverpool pause. The second factor made the decision easier.

Minteh suffered a thigh injury in pre-season, serious enough to require surgery. Current estimates suggest he may not be back until mid-November. Any club paying that fee now would be buying potential and waiting for fitness, rather than getting an immediate weapon.

By the time Minteh returns, the calendar will already be sliding towards January. At that point, Liverpool could reassess, armed with more information on his recovery and form. A future move is not off the table. But it would need a chain reaction: attackers moving out to create space and opportunity in the squad. Federico Chiesa, still under contract, sits squarely in that conversation.

For now, Minteh remains a player of interest, not a player in red.

The Right-Winger They Already Have

Inside the club, there is little sense of panic. The reason is simple: Liverpool believe they have already signed a right-winger – and one with the kind of ceiling that justifies patience.

On the penultimate day of the window, Liverpool unveiled Bradley Barcola. Most profiles and quick takes filed him under “left-winger”, and the numbers back that up. Across youth and senior football, he has logged over 9,000 minutes on the left, according to Wyscout.

But that headline misses a crucial detail. Barcola is not chained to that flank.

He has already played more than 3,600 minutes as a right-winger in his career. From that side, he has produced 11 goals and 13 assists – a strong return for a player still developing, and a clear sign he can hurt teams cutting in from the opposite wing.

That versatility changes the entire picture. Instead of scrambling for a specialist at inflated prices, Liverpool can tilt the system and use Barcola on the right. It suits the numbers, it suits his profile, and it suits a squad that thrives on flexible forwards.

So while the market shouted about Minteh and Sarr, Liverpool quietly backed a different solution. They kept Gakpo. They resisted huge fees for an injured target. And they turned to a new signing whose numbers on the right already look dangerous.

The search for a right-winger might have dominated deadline-day chatter. At Anfield, they are convinced the answer has already walked through the door – and Bradley Barcola now has the stage to prove just how special he really is.