Newcastle United can secure January deal for left winger - on one condition

Eddie Howe has revealed Newcastle United are unable to recall Yankuba Minteh from his loan spell at Feyernoord.

The 19-year-old joined the Magpies from Danish club Odense Boldklub for £7million in the summer and was immediately loaned to the Dutch champions for the 2022-23 season.

Minteh has impressed during his time in the Netherlands, marking his 12 Eredivisie appearances so far with two goals and three assists. He's also got to experience the Champions League and on Wednesday scored his first goal in the competition during a 2-1 defeat to Celtic.

Howe previously suggested Newcastle would consider recalling Minteh in January because of their injury problems. There is, however, no automatic call-back clause.

In order to bring Minteh to Tyneside five months early, an agreement will need to be struck between Feyenoord and the player himself.

Clarifying the situation, Howe explained: "We can’t recall him. We could possibly come to an agreement with the club and player but there’s no clause."

Speaking previously, Howe said: “We’ll make a decision on him, like we would with all our loan players," Howe said in November.

“I think his loan spell has been a productive one. He’s scored goals and been part of a successful team. He’s certainly got talent, although the Premier League is a very different league to any other league in Europe.

“That doesn’t mean that players can’t come in or out of the Premier League. He’s someone we like, and he’s certainly got the athletic profile that we need."

Meanwhile, Minteh himself said last month: "Everyone wants to play in the Premier League growing up. It's a league that the whole world watches. It's a great opportunity for me.

"Newcastle is a big club and I see they like a lot of young players which is a reason why I wanted to join. I just need to continue working hard whilst at Feyenoord. 

"I used to be a fan of Hatem Ben Arfa when he was Newcastle and I enjoyed the way he played. I liked Demba Ba and Papiss Cissé too but, now, I'm looking up to Miguel Almirón, a winger like myself, as I believe we have a similar playing style. 

My main strengths as a footballer is my pace. I am able to run quite fast and I like to dribble, beating defenders in one-on-one situations and scoring goals. Dribbling is one of the things I enjoy most when playing on the pitch.”