Champions League forward set to join Newcastle United after 11-goal season

Newcastle United head coach plans to have 19-year-old forward Yankuba Minteh as part of his first-team squad in pre-season.

Minteh joined Newcastle from Odense for £7million last summer and was quickly loaned out to Feyenoord for the 2023-24 campaign. The youngster has impressed during his season in the Netherlands, scoring in the Champions League and helping Feyenoord win the KNVB Cup last month.

Minteh scored his 11th goal of the season in a 3-2 win against NEC Nijmegen over the weekend in his 22nd start of the campaign.

With Feyenoord keen to keep hold of Minteh, Eddie Howe previously told The Gazette that he was uncertain whether the winger would be back at Newcastle in pre-season.

But as the season draws to a close, The Magpies boss revealed the ‘plan’ is for the Gambian international to be part of pre-season with the first-team before any major decisions are made on his future. “The plan at the moment is he will come back in to us pre-season and we'll take it from there,” Howe said.

Feyenoord may look to loan Minteh back for a second successive season while a permanent transfer away from Newcastle has also been discussed. As a player The Magpies signed for a relatively small fee, selling Minteh for a significant profit could provide a spending boost to the club as they look to adhere to Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules.

Given Minteh’s age, potential and the fact he plays in a position Newcastle would ideally look to strengthen this summer, a closer look at the youngster could prove beneficial to all parties heading into the 2024-25 campaign.