Liverpool Seemingly Walk Away From Mbaye, Minteh and Sarr - Who Next?

Liverpool had already seen bids of £50m and £60m rejected for Minteh, with Brighton’s demands eventually reaching around £80m. Fabrizio Romano then reported that Liverpool have gone cold on the deal and are now exploring different options for the second winger they want to add.

Romano then reported that Liverpool submitted a proposal worth around £50m for the Crystal Palace winger Ismaila Sarr, only for Palace to reject it and maintain their stance that they want to keep him.

At 28, Sarr would have brought Premier League experience, pace and a more immediate option compared to Minteh, but £50m already felt like a substantial offer. Going significantly higher would start to feel like Liverpool are paying for necessity rather than value.

That is the danger now.

Everyone knows Liverpool need another natural right-sided attacker after Salah’s departure. Clubs know the deadline is approaching and they know Liverpool have money to spend. That makes negotiations increasingly difficult.

I would rather Liverpool move onto another target than become desperate.

The concern, though, is how far down the list they are now going. Yan Diomande was wanted, Mbaye and Minteh proved too expensive and now the Sarr approach has hit another brick wall. Liverpool cannot simply sign somebody for the sake of filling the position, but they need bodies.

There still needs to be another forward signed alongside Barcola, ideally someone who Iraola wants and somebody capable of eventually making that right-hand side their own. Either this or a suitable "stop-gap" for now that could become a rotation player when Liverpool sign their ideal right wing target, say next summer.

Liverpool appear to have put too much focus on Diomande and Barcola and not any alternatives, this late in the window can you sign a suitable long term solution? Or will you have to settle for someone who the club view as a risk - which could have consequences when you have to persist with them for a few seasons. This is why I think a "stop-gap" could make sense, but who?

There is a lot of pressure on Richard Hughes to fix this mess in the last week of the window