Liverpool have shifted their focus to Crystal Palace winger Ismaila Sarr after Brighton knocked back two bids for Yankuba Minteh, though the picture around any approach for Sarr remains far from settled.
Minteh pursuit collapses
Liverpool had offers of £50m and £60m for the 22-year-old Minteh turned down by Brighton, prompting the club to look elsewhere for a right-sided attacking option before Tuesday’s deadline. That search has now led them to Sarr, who like Minteh operates on the right and has Premier League experience.
Why Sarr appeals
Sarr scored 21 goals for Palace last season and was already attracting outside interest, with Galatasaray reported to have shown interest in the Senegal international last week. Liverpool are said to be exploring a move, but the understanding is that Palace are not open to selling him this summer.
Conflicting accounts on a bid
Sources have told BBC Sport that a bid has in fact been made by Liverpool for Sarr, but both Liverpool and Crystal Palace have denied that any offer exists. That leaves genuine doubt over how advanced, if at all, talks between the two clubs actually are.
Palace manager Pierre Sage was asked directly whether an approach had come in from Liverpool and did not deny that contact of some kind had taken place, while stopping short of confirming a formal bid.
“I understand that for everybody to have this kind of contact [from another club] is difficult, because you hesitate a lot. But for the moment, he is with us. He is under contract,” Sage said.
Sage also addressed suggestions that Sarr’s current injury absence might be connected to speculation over his future, but rejected any implication that the player’s head has been turned.
“He is injured and maybe you can make a link between his injury and the situation. But for me, he is honest and I have no problem with that. We just want him on the pitch as quickly as possible,” he added.
Asked more generally whether he expects Sarr to remain at Selhurst Park, Sage pointed to the length of his contract.
“For the moment, yes, because when you have three years on the contract it is not easy to leave,” Sage said.
Barcola talks continue
Sarr is not the only name on Liverpool’s radar as the deadline approaches. The club are also continuing talks with Paris St-Germain over a deal for France winger Bradley Barcola, part of a wider effort to secure wide attacking reinforcements before Tuesday. Liverpool are said to be weighing up all their options and want to complete two signings before the window shuts.
Mateta situation adds context
The Sarr talk comes amid separate uncertainty at Palace over forward Jean-Philippe Mateta, whose advisers have argued that the final year of his contract should not be legally binding, since it stemmed from an extension option the club activated on his original four-and-a-half-year deal. Fifa ruled the matter fell outside its jurisdiction shortly before Palace’s Premier League opener at Everton, and the case has since been heard by a Premier League independent tribunal. For now, Mateta remains a Palace player, and Sage said he sees no sign of unrest from the striker.
“He has the behaviour of someone who is happy to be here, who wants to be here and is prepared to be here all season. I don’t see a player who has a problem with the club or with us,” Sage said.
What happens next
With Palace insisting Sarr is not for sale, Liverpool and Palace disputing whether a bid even exists, and the Barcola talks still live, Liverpool’s route to adding a right-sided attacker before Tuesday’s deadline remains unresolved. How much of the Sarr interest translates into a formal, acknowledged approach is likely to become clearer only as the window’s final hours play out.
