Eddie Howe ‘pleased’ as Champions League winger makes Newcastle contract claim - set to join in 2024

Minteh joined Newcastle in June from Danish side Odense for a reported £7million before being quickly loaned out to Feyenoord. The 19-year-old winger has impressed so far in the Eredivisie with three goals and an assist in his last five appearances.

The teenager also made his debut for the Gambia national team last month, scoring in a crucial 2-2 draw against Congo.

Despite being contracted to Newcastle for the past four months, Minteh is still yet to visit the city with his loan to Feyenoord agreed immediately before the start of pre-season.

“I was able to sign a contract with Newcastle, but I have never seen the city myself,” Minteh revealed. “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 loan 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 coach.”

But Minteh’s latest outing in a 2-0 win against Zwolle saw him criticised by Feyenoord manager Arne Slot after opting to take a chance himself rather than picking out a team-mate.

“I don’t know whether it is a lack of overview today, or whether it was an urge to want to score a goal himself,” Slot told ESPN after the match.

“As far as I’m concerned, that’s not the same, because if you have an overview and you see someone standing free and think ‘well, today I’m going for my own chance’, that’s different from not seeing someone. Because in general I think he has the overview.

”But today he often went for his own chance, but it is true that he is always involved in threats, because he is of course so fast. But today he definitely didn’t get the maximum return out of it. He is still young and works very hard. He is also always willing to defend back. But I will look back carefully to see whether the overview was lacking or whether he thought I wanted to score a goal against this opponent.”

Once his loan at Feyenoord ends, Minteh is set to join up with the Newcastle squad for the first time next summer. He could be loaned out once again, but Magpies boss Howe is ‘really pleased’ with the progress the youngster has made in the Netherlands so far.

“He’s started really well, I’m really, really pleased,” Howe told The Gazette. “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.”