Confirmed: Injury costs Liverpool winger; Andoni Iraola forced to pivot

Confirmed: Injury costs Liverpool winger; Andoni Iraola forced to pivot Liverpool don't have the winger they wanted this season thanks to injury. Andoni Iraola has been forced to pivot into something new. Liverpool quite famously lack a balanced squad right now. There are missing pieces all over the place and it's left Andoni Iraola a little in the lurch. Midfield is a massive one - he's been provided, much as Arne Slot was, with a group that largely want to do the same thing. There's no one willing to sit and control games through either defending or passing. And that's a problem. But it's not the only place there's a problem. Liverpool have, quite incredibly, four left wingers in the squad. And no natural right-wingers. They had two in the squad already and then purchased another two in the summer for what approached €200m. That wasn't the entire plan, though. It seems Liverpool did try to get a hold of a right-sided winger - only for an injury to ruin everything. Liverpool and Yankuba Minteh Journalist Foday Manneh has spoken to Sport Witness about Yankuba Minteh's proposed move to Liverpool in the summer. It's one that dragged on and on until it didn't, with nothing ultimately happening. But the Reds tried. Manneh claims their interest dates back around a year, though they didn't start pushing for a move until around March - when Mohamed Salah confirmed he'd leave the club. Brighton wanted a lot of money, however, with a £70m price tag on Minteh. Liverpool offered £60m and by the time they were considering a bid of £70m, the Seagulls had 'triggered' a deadline that saw the price rise to £80m. The reason for the latter being that the transfer deadline was close, leaving little time for Brighton to replace the winger. Liverpool said no to the price rise. However, Liverpool changed their minds and tried again right at the death. It was Minteh's injury that ultimately put them off, though, and they couldn't justify the price with him missing months of action. That injury, then, is the reason Liverpool don't have a right-winger. Now, you can question the logic of signing a fifth winger and the logic of potentially paying £80m for Minteh - but we'll agree with the club that paying that much for a winger who will be injured for three months is nonsense. Sort of the right decision, then. Even if the final decision to sign no one for the right and everyone for the left remains genuinely crazy.