‘Really pleased’ - The £7m Champions League winger set to link up with Newcastle United in 2023

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.”