Financial constraints could hamper Newcastle this summer, but the return of a starlet could save them millions in the transfer market.
Yankuba Minteh arrived at St. James’ Park from Odense Boldklub in 2023 for a fee of £7 million and was immediately sent to Dutch club Feyenoord.
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While Newcastle fans barely knew what the winger was capable of, they certainly do now.
Since moving to the Eredivisie, the 19-year-old has been a first-team regular under Arne Slot and played 36 games for the club, including four in the Champions League.
In that time, Minteh has scored 11 goals and provided six assists – an incredible 11 of those goal contributions coming from his last 12 appearances.
It has been suggested that Feyenoord – along with a number of clubs across Europe – are interested in signing the Gambia international this summer.
With Feyenoord coach Slot set to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, it is even possible that he will be seen as a long-term replacement for Mohamed Salah at Anfield.
But as far as Newcastle are concerned, they will be the ones to benefit from his meteoric rise.
Speaking about their plans for Minteh, manager Eddie Howe said: “The plan at the moment is for him to return to us before the season. Then we’ll go from there.”
Newcastle have an excellent recent track record of giving young players the chance to impress at first-team level in order to become part of Howe’s plans.
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21-year-old Elliot Anderson has already made more than 50 appearances for the club, while Lewis Miley made his debut at 17 before going on to make 26 appearances for the Magpies.
These included Champions League starts against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes and Newcastle’s home game against AC Milan.
If Minteh has the chance to impress here, it could provide some breathing room in Newcastle’s finances for the summer.
It has been suggested that Newcastle may need to sell players to finance new signings.
Alexander Isak has been linked with an expensive move to Arsenal, while Bruno Guimaraes is being targeted due to the £100m release clause in his contract which expires on June 30.
While Newcastle are targeting free transfers such as Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly and Fulham’s Tosin Adarabioyo, they are likely to need to recoup money to pay a transfer fee for further signings.
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Given Minteh’s rise and the prospect of a real role in Howe’s first-team plans, it could allow Newcastle to offload an attacking player without having to spend money on a replacement.
Isak will be the key element in Newcastle’s attacking line, while Miguel Almiron has also been linked with a move.
The Newcastle starlet may have arrived for £7million last summer, but with a valuation that has skyrocketed in the 12 months since joining the Magpies, you will be grateful for an investment that has already paid off handsomely.