Newcastle United complete first summer signing — and loan to Champions League rivals

Sporting director Dan Ashworth has revealed that Newcastle United’s first confirmed summer signing forms part of a wider transfer strategy aimed at making the Magpies a long-term force.

Newcastle completed a near $7.5 million deal for Gambian forward Yankuba Minteh from Danish side Odense Boldklug on Monday, the first move they’ve made in the market since their top-four Premier League finish.

And while the temptation would usually have been to throw the 18-year-old straight in the first-team mix, Newcastle have sent the player automatically out on loan to Feyenoord for the whole of the 2023/24 season. The Dutch outfit, who won the Eredivisie last season ahead of the likes of Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, will also be in next season’s Champions League. Newcastle are expected to be in pot four, with Feyenoord top seeds.

It’s a bold move by Newcastle, who are not expected to have an extravagant summer due to being at the limits of their Premier League Financial Fair Play spending limits. However, they will attempt to stretch their budgets as far as possible, in a bid to emulate the approach made by Brighton & Hove Albion, who scour for youthful value across the globe, who used to be masterminded by Ashworth.

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.

“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 will officially sign on the dotted line for Newcastle on July 1. The prospect registered four goal and six assists in just 17 appearances for OB in the Danish Superliga.

The player could well be followed through the door by another four of five signings this summer, with Leicester City’s James Maddison right at the top of head coach Eddie Howe’s transfer wanted list.