Under Tony Bloom, Brighton have earned a reputation for buying players cheap, and selling them high, usually to Chelsea. Moises Caicedo’s £115 million move from the South Coast to West London two-and-a-half years after joining for £4m was a British transfer record until this summer.
Man United were interested in signing Caicedo’s replacement, Carlos Baleba, before the 2025-26 season kicked off, but were quoted a similar price, which Ruben Amorim’s side ultimately thought was too steep.
Since then, clearly affected by the interest, Baleba’s form has dropped, but that doesn’t mean Brighton don’t have other players that look set to be sold for huge fees. Now, the most likely appears to be Yankuba Minteh, 21.
Absolutely fearless in attack
Former Brighton star Marc Cucurella may well be the best left-back in the Premier League at the moment, but he didn’t have a moments peace when Chelsea last to Fabian Hurzeler’s side came to town earlier in the season.
Down to ten men after Trevoh Chalobah saw red, Enzo Maresca gambled by throwing on defenders Benoit Badiashile, Malo Gusto and Josh Acheampong along with defensive midfielder Romeo Lavia.
Sitting back so much played directly into Minteh’s hands. Finally, in the 77th minute, the winger’s whipped cross found Danny Welbeck to make it 1-1. After that, the floodgates opened and Brighton ended up 3-1 winners.
Welbeck got all the headlines with his two goals, but Minteh was clearly sounded out as Brighton’s main creative outlet, ending the game having had 12 touches in the Chelsea box, two successful dribbles, and only being dispossessed once.
Looking at the bigger picture, Minteh is a high-volume dribbler, sitting in third across the Premier League when it comes to distance covered with progressive carries with 852.3 metres from 63 completed, averaging 13.5 per 90 minutes.
It should come as no surprise that he tops the table for most of Brighton’s attacking metrics in the league, having created the most chances with 12, the most successful dribbles per 90 minutes with 2.9, and, of course, the most important, the most goal contributions with three (two assists and one goal).
More defensive output than you might think
So, he clearly has what it takes to be effective in the final third, but perhaps the most underappreciated aspect of Minteh’s game is just how much he’s willing to put in the hard work that so many wingers wouldn’t care for.
Remarkably, Minteh has won the highest number of ground duels in the Premier League at the club with 39 from his 72 attempted, a whopping 12 more successful than his closest competitor, defensive midfielder Yasin Ayari.
His impressive defensive numbers don’t end there. Across Minteh’s seven Premier League games so far, he’s won 12 tackles, made 29 recoveries, six interceptions, and won possession in the final third four times. A full back would be happy with those stats.
What next for Minteh?
After a decent if unremarkable 2025-25, this season is already starting to feel like a breakout campaign for the Gambian. Newcastle were forced to sell him for a reported fee of £30m in order to help with their PSR troubles, if Minteh were to leave Brighton, he’s going to cost a lot more than that.
There are only a few clubs on the planet than can afford to pay a potential £100m fee for a player, and most of them are in the Premier League. Chelsea’s ongoing relationship with Brighton means they would of course be in the mix should Minteh become available.
Heading to Liverpool would make a lot of sense. With Mohamed Salah entering the twilight of his career, and his attacking numbers appearing to fall, having a more industrious winger like Minteh would help subsidize their more attacking right back options.
Verdict
Minteh’s most prolific season in front of goal came when he was with Feyenoord, scoring 11 goals and providing five assists, if he were to end up joining a top side for the big bucks, he will certainly have to improve on that and get into double figures for both.
He’s still young and appearing to improve game by game, don’t be too surprised if he leaves Brighton for a huge fee in the not too distant future.