Fabian Hurzeler has hinted that Yankuba Minteh wants to leave Brighton & Hove Albion following interest from Liverpool as he urged the winger to commit to the club. The Reds have seen bids of £50m and £60m rejected for the Gambia international, who is currently sidelined after undergoing surgery on an ankle injury, with Brighton holding out for closer to £80m. Such demands saw Liverpool walk away from negotiations, though they could resurrect a potential deal if the Seagulls lower their demands.
Hurzeler's plea to Minteh
Hurzeler revealed he has held talks with Minteh and tried to persuade the 22-year-old that he should stay put at the Amex Stadium. But conceded that Brighton were waiting to see Liverpool's next move before next week's transfer deadline as uncertainty regarding the player's future continues.
“Rumours, rumours. Let’s see what happens,” he said when asked about the Reds’ interest in Minteh. “Another example of a player who benefits from the success of the team. He benefits, for example, from the hard work of Pascal [Gross], hard work from Jack Hinshelwood, hard work from all the other players. He benefits and he knows it.
“I also think it’s important to understand as a player what you have here, playing for a club like Brighton. You have a club that gives you the chance, you have a club and teammates who are really trying to push you, you have a club that is there for you also in tough moments.
“Carlos Baleba (who has just signed for Manchesrer United) had so many tough moments when he was here. Minteh also had tough moments, but we were always there for them, always tried to help them; their teammates are there for them.
“It’s important for players to understand what they have here at this club. How the fans are connected, how we are working together. It’s difficult to find a similar environment or better environment for potential young players.
“But the same with Minteh, we were successful as a team; that brings attention to him, so let’s see what happens.
“If you ask me if I’ll try to convince him to stay, yes, I try to convince him to stay. But can I control everything? No, I can’t control everything.
“Let’s see, let’s see (if we can keep him). From my perspective, Minteh, he’s a Brighton player, he needs to commit to this club. Because he knows that these rumours only come because he benefits from everything here.
“From how he’s been worked with, how he’s been protected from everyone, how he’s been developed. So I think that’s also important for him.
“Then in the end, we all know, everyone knows, how the football business works. Let’s see the ideas from Liverpool. We have a clear idea how we want to go forward, but we have a lot of things in our hands regarding this player.
“But in the end, there’s Tony [Bloom, owner], there’s Paul [Barber, CEO], together with them we try to make the right decision.”
Acceptance of player exits
However, Hurzeler conceded he will not complain if Minteh does move on as he admitted star players leaving Brighton is part of football. “We try to convince these key players to stay, definitely,” he said. “That’s my first job but when a player is leaving, we are there to find solutions.
“Of course, I try to convince the players to stay, but it's part of this club,” he said. “It's part of our identity that we will always develop young players. We always try to get young players in.
“Selling players will only only happen if the club is successful. And I think all these players who want to make a move, they need to understand they need to work hard for this team here.
“They need to commit as long as they're here for this badge. And that's crucial for me. Then it’s natural in this business that there comes bigger clubs, longer contracts, bigger contracts, more money.
“That’s something we have to accept… I will never complain about these things because there are certain things I can't control.
“Of course I will fight for my players. Of course I have a clear opinion which player should definitely stay and help us.
“But there are certain things I can't control as a manager and therefore my focus is on how well I can prepare my team regarding the next challenge and that's the only thing I can control.”
Focus on squad depth
Hurzeler continued: “I’m not a guy who will be here in front of the media and try to complain about anything. I'm a coach who tries to find solutions together with my team, together with my players, and we showed it in an aggressive way on Sunday (in their 4-0 thrashing of Aston Villa).
“They were capable of doing it. Now the thing is can we do it long term? Do we have enough players to do these things long term in a consistent way? Because in the end, consistency is the main bit for us. Consistency in this season will be crucial for us if we have another successful season or not.
“Therefore, we need to take care of every player individually. Do we have enough depth in our squad? Do we have enough players who can replace this or that player?
“And this will be crucial to understand how strong is our depth of the squad and if you’re convinced there. I have a big belief in our squad.”
