£7m winger set to link up with Newcastle United next summer yet to make Tyneside visit

Yankuba Minteh is yet to step foot on Tyneside, despite signing for Newcastle United in the summer.

The 19-year-old winger made the move from Danish side Odense Boldklub for £7million in June before being loaned to the Dutch champion for the 2023-24 campaign.

And he’s made an impressive start in the Netherlands with Minteh netting three goals in eight appearances. As well as appearing in the Eredivisie, Minteh has also played in both Champions League Group E fixtures against Celtic and Atletico Madrid.

Minteh’s form for Feyenoord, you’d suspect, will only strengthen his case for going straight into Eddie Howe’s first-team set up next season. The player, however, has revealed he is unsure over what the plan is.

“I was able to sign a contract with Newcastle, but I have never seen the city myself,” said Minteh. “The club immediately indicated that I would go to Feyenoord on loan.

“In Rotterdam I also signed my contract with Newcastle. The club brought all kinds of people over to the Netherlands to ensure that my first weeks went well.

“The rental period is until the end of the season. I hear that there are people who hope that I will stay longer. But that’s looking far ahead.

“It is clear that I like it here. I feel the appreciation of the trainers and supporters. And I feel that I am developing myself under this trainer.”

Asked about Minteh on Friday, Howe revealed he has kept a close eye on the Gambian winger’s development.

“He’s started really well, I’m really, really pleased,” said Howe. “Whenever a player goes on loan, the expectation is that they learn and develop their game and he’s certainly learning and developing.

“He’s scoring goals playing in a good team in a good league so really pleased.”

Speaking about the signing of Minteh, sporting director Dan Ashworth said previously: “We are very pleased to be bringing a player with Yankuba’s high potential to Newcastle United. “He has done extremely well in his first full season in Denmark, and he has a promising career ahead of him.

“We look forward to working with him in this exciting phase of his development, and we’re excited to see how he performs at Feyenoord, a club that also has a strong development record of its own.

“As well as supporting the first team with players for the here and now, we have a clear philosophy to invest in emerging talent and we want to provide a player pathway that will help to build and sustain long-term success.”