Jamie Carragher makes 'real deal' admission as Newcastle United make £33m transfer decision

The Magpies reluctantly sold Minteh for £33million and academy graduate Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest for £35m to avoid breaching Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which would inevitably resulted in a points deduction.

United paid £7m to sign Minteh from Odense Boldklub last summer so therefore made a quick profit. The Gambian winger also never kicked a ball in black and white having spent the 2023-24 campaign on loan at Feyenoord.

But having watched his Premier League debut away to Everton on Saturday, Carragher is convinced Minteh “looks the right deal”. The 22-year-old set up Karou Mitoma and looked dangerous in other moments down the right before a concussion forced him to withdraw on the brink of half-time.

Carragher told Sky Sports: “I read a lot about him over the summer, or towards the end of last season about him coming back to Newcastle. They obviously moved him on because of the financial situation. 

“When I look at what Newcastle have got on that right-hand side - Jacob Murphy has done a great job over the last few years, [Miguel] Almiron is a player I think they were trying to move on to the MLS, so I don't know whether he'll stay or not. 

"But that lad [Minteh], certainly what I saw in little bits and in highlights last season, and what he did against Everton at the weekend - I think that is one that Newcastle are going to really rue in years to come. He looks the real deal.”

Howe has already revealed his disappointment at losing Minteh and Anderson but believes their departures were the best outcome in a bad situation as it allowed the club to keep key stars such as Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak.

“We wish Elliot and Yankuba all the very best in their next football clubs,” Howe said previously. “It was a really difficult time, there was a lot of uncertainty and we didn’t know what was going to happen.

“In the end it’s been as good as we could have hoped for in terms of us not being hit with a points deduction which was of course of paramount importance we did that. But we need to make sure we’re not in that position again.”