'Disappointed' - Eddie Howe reacts to Yankuba Minteh goal against Newcastle United
Yankuba Minteh came back to haunt Newcastle United again in their 1-1 draw away to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Minteh departed last summer without kicking a ball for Newcastle after the club sold him for £33million to help comply with Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules.
The 20-year-old has scored in both his appearances against the Magpies this campaign, first finding the net in a 2-1 FA Cup win at St James’ Park in March before opening the scoring at the Amex Stadium on Sunday.
And Minteh has appeared to apologise for scoring both times by putting his hands together during his celebration. However, his celebration yesterday caused more of a stir.
After putting his hands together, Minteh proceeded to look very animated, shaking his finger, pointing at his shirt and the ground at the Amex Stadium before being pulled away by teammates.
Asked about Minteh after the game, United boss Eddie Howe said: “Yeah, second time he’s done it to us this season. Yes, to a degree, you always know that that's a potential worry for you when you go into the game, just because of his qualities.
“We knew all about his left foot, we've worked on that and sometimes you can work on it and it can still come to harm with it. We're disappointed with the goal because we should have done better.
“Generally, though, I think to keep them to five or six shots in the game, I thought overall the team defended very, very strongly. Nick [Pope] had nothing to do, really. And that's why we sort of leave then thinking, ‘well, we should have won the game’. But, yes, we have to accept what we've got.”
Yankuba Minteh has already addressed his Newcastle United exit
While it is unclear what Minteh’s celebration meant, perhaps we can assume no disrespect was intended based on his interview last month.
Addressing his Newcastle exit, Minteh told The Athletic: “I didn’t know anything about that because I’d never heard of it, that thing, ‘PFA’, or something like that [meaning PSR],” he said.
“I just heard from my agent that they wanted to sell me. I said: ‘Okay, if they want to sell me, then it’s fine. I can go to another club and try. I know other clubs are interested in me, so if I don’t play there, then it’s an opportunity to play for another team.’ I wasn’t sad or anything like that.
“All I was doing in the Netherlands [at Feyenoord] was trying to show I could play in the Premier League, because that is all I want. It doesn’t matter if it is Newcastle, Bournemouth or Brighton, but after finding myself in Brighton, I have fallen in love with the club now. I am settled here and I am good here now.
“I don’t have anything against Newcastle. This is how football works. You go to this team, you think you are going to stay there for the rest of your life. Another team wants you, you move to another team.”