NEWCASTLE made Gambian starlet Yankuba Minteh their first signing of the summer – before sending him straight on loan to Feyenoord.
Toon paid Danish club OB Odense around £6million for the young forward, who bagged four goals and six assists last season.
Minteh, 18, will spend next season in Holland with newly-crowned champions Feyenoord before fighting for a place in Eddie Howe’s squad.
And Newcastle director of football Dan Ashworth said: “We are very pleased to be bringing a player with Yankuba’s high potential to Newcastle United.
“He has done extremely well in his first full season in Denmark, and he has a promising career ahead of him.
“We look forward to working with him in this exciting phase of his development, and we’re excited to see how he performs at Feyenoord, a club that also has a strong development record of its own.
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“As well as supporting the first team with players for the here and now, we have a clear philosophy to invest in emerging talent and we want to provide a player pathway that will help to build and sustain long-term success.”
Minteh is yet to win a cap for Gambia but received a first call-up in November.
He started his career at Steve Biko FC back home before moving to Denmark last July.
Meanwhile, Newcastle have been linked with a host of other names in the summer window.
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Howe’s men are competing with Tottenham for the signature of Leicester playmaker James Maddison.
They are also in the market for Juventus forward Federico Chiesa, with Liverpool a rival challenger.
And Newcastle have joined the likes of Man City, Man Utd and Liverpool as they pursue Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk