‘Big club’ – Champions League winger makes Newcastle United claim as Eddie Howe ponders January move
Newcastle United transfers: Yankuba Minteh has impressed during his loan spell at Feyenoord so far.
Yankuba Minteh has reflected on his loan spell at Feyenoord as Newcastle United consider recalling him in January.
Minteh joined Newcastle for £7million from Danish club Odense in the summer before quickly being loaned out to Feyenoord for the 2023-24 campaign. The 19-year-old has impressed with the Dutch champions with three goals and two assists in 15 appearances in all competitions.
He has also made three appearances in the Champions League this season for Feyenoord. He recently returned from a hamstring injury and started the 3-1 defeat against Atletico Madrid last Tuesday.
And head coach Eddie Howe has previously claimed the club would ‘certainly look’ into the possibility of recalling the winger in January with the club currently amid an injury crisis. Newcastle currently have wingers Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy out with longer-term injury issues.
But Minteh claims ‘everything is going well’ at Feyenoord as he reflected on his spell with the Dutch club so far.
“Everything is going well so far at Feyenoord,” said the 19-year-old. “It’s a good team and I am surrounded by good people so it’s been a positive start. The standard of football here is very good and I’m trying to work as hard as possible everyday in training and matches. “The coaches and players in the squad have given me a lot of advice and tried to help me a lot. If I don’t understand something, they are there to explain it to me so I fully understand what they want. “I feel I’m developing a lot both on and off the pitch. Playing in Holland is different to Denmark. It’s a lot bigger with a different culture and there’s a lot of top players in every position on the pitch. “That was something I found hard when I first arrived but I think I’m coping with it and I’ve been able to take my chance in the team. I feel I’m getting stronger everyday, both physically and mentally.” And Minteh is looking forward to getting the opportunity to play in the Premier League for Newcastle. This could come sooner than expected should Feyenoord and Newcastle reach an agreement to end his loan early. “Everyone wants to play in the Premier League growing up,” he told nufc.co.uk. “It’s a league which the whole world watches.
“It’s a great opportunity for me. Newcastle is a big club and I see they like a lot of young players which is a reason why I wanted to join. I just need to continue working hard whilst at Feyenoord. “I used to be a fan of Hatem Ben Arfa when he was Newcastle and I enjoyed the way he played. I liked Demba Ba and Papiss Cissé too but, now, I’m looking up to Miguel Almirón, a winger like myself, as I believe we have a similar playing style. “My main strengths as a footballer is my pace. I am able to run quite fast and I like to dribble, beating defenders in one-on-one situations and scoring goals. Dribbling is one of the things I enjoy most when playing on the pitch.”
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