Change the plan, Richard Hughes! Liverpool want the wrong Brighton star

Liverpool want Yankuba Minteh from Brighton. He's not the one they should be chasing, however.

Liverpool will reportedly hold transfer talks with Brighton tonight as they try to sign Yankuba Minteh. The Reds have already seen two offers rejected for the winger but believe there's a real chance they get over the line with a third.

Now, Minteh is a talent and could become a great player. But people paying attention will notice that the currently-injured star wasn't exactly missed by the Seagulls on Sunday as they smashed Aston Villa 4-0.

Instead, they played Diego Gomez from the right, as they often did last season. The Paragauayan was fantastic and so here's a prediction: Gomez gets a big-money move in 2027.

Unless Liverpool can sign him first.

Diego Gomez is a must

Gomez got an assist in the win over Villa and was unlucky not to have more than that. He could have ended up with a couple of goals and another couple of assists if things had gone his way.

But even without this showing, Gomez should be on the radar. He’s an incredibly unique player for this day and age - one who can conceivably play everywhere and do it well.

That’s important because Liverpool need to fix a few different problems in their squad. Notably, on the right wing and in the middle of midfield. These also happen to be the problems Gomez is best at fixing.

He moves between the two positions and in our data model operates as a centre-midfielder. With that in mind, we have him as the 12-most valuable midfielder in the Premier League last season and the most valuable 22-and-under. Only Elliot Anderson and Ryan Gravenberch score higher 23-and-under.

And he does it by being great at everything. Attack? 15th among Premier League midfielders. Defence? 10th.

Five goals, can play on the wing and is a defensive force. Brighton asked a lot of Gomez last season and he’s in the top 10 per cent for defensive output share across all players in the Premier League last season.

But then he’s also above average for shots, shots on target and conversion rate, and average for key passes. A true do-it-all midfielder who just so happens to tick the exact boxes Liverpool need.

We’re not sure what Gomez would cost right now but the hype around him is incredibly low for a player this valuable. Strike now and you may just get him well below his real value.

But act fast.