Newcastle United set to finalise first summer transfer signing - medical ‘to take place soon’

Newcastle United are set to make Gambian winger Yankuba Minteh their first summer signing.

As per transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Minteh is finalising a £6million move from Denmark side Odense with his medical “to take place soon”. The move is subject to Minteh obtaining a work permit.

The 18-year-old has enjoyed an impressive breakthrough into senior football having scored four goals and provided six assists this season.

Minteh has also made inroads into the international scene after earning a first call up for Gambia for friendly matches against DR Congo and Liberia.

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The youngster admitted last month he was open to joining Eddie Howe’s Newcastle.

“Of course, I want to go to Newcastle,” Minteh said. “It’s a big club in the Premier League and they’re doing something good. They are fighting for a place in the Champions League. I am ready to take the next step, and it will only be good for me.”

Odense sporting director Bjorn Wesstrom revealed several clubs had enquired about Minteh - but it now appears the Magpies have won the race.

Wesstrom said: “I have been in dialogue with a number of top clubs, but we don’t know how it will end. There are always many rumours about a player who has the stats he has, and that is positive. We must have recruited him well.”

The transfer is very similar to when Garang Kuol joined the Magpies from A-League outfit Central Coast Mariners in January as sporting director Dan Ashworth eyes players for the future, not just the present.

It’s likely Minteh will be loaned to a club on the continent, regardless of whether he obtains a work permit now or in the near future.