Yankuba Minteh hits Champions League milestone as Newcastle United weigh up transfer decision

Yankuba Minteh reached a Champions League milestone on the same night Newcastle United crashed out of Europe following a 2-1 defeat at home to AC Milan.

Minteh joined the Magpies last summer in a deal worth £7million from Danish club Odense Boldklub before being immediately loaned to Feyenoord for the 2023-24 campaign.

It hasn't taken the Gambian winger long to impress at the Dutch champions, marking his 12 Eredivisie appearances so far with two goals and three assists.

He has also got to experience the Champions League and last night scored his first goal in the competition during a 2-1 defeat to Celtic.

Feyenoord finished third in Group E and as a result secured qualification into the Europa League. However it remains to be seen if Minteh will remain with the Dutch club past January.

As revealed by Eddie Howe last month, Newcastle are considering recalling the 19-year-old.

“We’ll look at our players that are out on loan, with a view to whether they could potentially strengthen us,” Howe revealed. “If it’s good for their career as well, then we’ll certainly look at what we can do.

“He’s (Minteh) done very well, although unfortunately he’s injured at the moment.

“We need to work out how serious the injury is and when he’ll be back, and then we’ll make a decision on him, like we would with all our loan players.”

Howe added: “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.

If recalled, Minteh would not take up a place in Newcastle's 25-man Premier League squad. Talk of the winger potentially returning earlier than anticipated is linked to the current injury situation.

Howe has been without several key players in recent months, although the hope is that the absentee list will reduce significantly by the New Year.