‘Really pleased’ - The £7m Champions League winger set to link up with Newcastle United in 2023
On-loan Newcastle United winger Yankuba Minteh has made an impressive start to his season-long spell at Feyenoord.
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe admits he is “really pleased” with Yankuba Minteh’s progress at Feyenoord.
The 19-year-old winger joined the Magpies for £7million from Danish side Odense Boldklub 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 his third goal of the campaign in last Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Go Ahead Eagles.
As well as making seven appearances in Eredivisie, Minteh has also played in both Champions League Group E fixtures against Celtic and Atletico Madrid.
Howe, speaking ahead of Newcastle’s Premier League trip to West Ham United on Sunday, has kept a close eye on the Gambian’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.”
Minteh’s form for Feyenoord, you’d suspect, will only strengthen his case for going straight into Howe’s first-team plans next season. He plays as a right winger, a position currently held by Miguel Almrion on Tyneside with Jacob Murphy in support.
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.”