Liverpool have £50m bid rejected for player that just had surgery

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In a move that has totally baffled me, Liverpool have reportedly made a £50m bid for Brighton and Hove Albion winger Yankuba Minteh in the last few days, which the south coast rejected. In a joint report for The Athletic, James Pearce and David Ornstein report that a £50m Liverpool bid for Minteh has been rejected.

The Reds have made the offer despite Minteh being in recovery from surgery on a hip injury suffered during pre-season. The two journalists report: “Brighton & Hove Albion have rejected a £50million ($68.1m) bid from Liverpool for winger Yankuba Minteh.

Minteh is a fantastic player, and before Mohamed Salah left, I was quite keen on the idea of him becoming a squad option to cover for the Egyptian, but I don’t understand why Liverpool would spend over £50m on a player they do not yet know will recover well from the surgery on his hip. I would almost understand it if Minteh was already an elite operator and Liverpool were convinced that a) he would return fit and ready and b) he would be a guaranteed starter.