Newcastle United are reportedly closing in on the signing of Odense winger Yankuba Minteh.
90Min has claimed that the Magpies have won the race for the 18-year-old ahead of several other clubs.
Other outlets, including BBC Sport and The Athletic, corroborate that Newcastle are ‘close’ to signing Minteh.
Newcastle have enjoyed an outstanding season in which they finished in the Premier League’s top four.
While the Magpies will be expected to bolster their first-team ranks, they seem to also be looking at future stars.
Newcastle have reportedly struck a £6million deal with Odense for Minteh, who they’ve been monitoring for months.
Minteh moved to Europe from Gambian outfit Steve Biko FC last summer and has dazzled for his club.
He impressed on his debut campaign, registering six goals and seven assists from just 21 outings.
BT commentator Lasse Voge has spoken about what the Minteh deal means for Odense.
Newcastle’s £6million deal would break the Danish club’s transfer record, which currently stands at around £4million.
“It’s a transfer that tickles all the right places if you love a good merchant story,” Voge said, as per Sport Witness.
“We are talking about a player who had to go through two trials in OB before the Fynbos decided to give him a youth contract this summer.
“And here, 17 Superliga games later, the world’s richest club is so ready to throw a huge sum on the table for the Gambian with extreme speed. It’s a great story.
“It will be a historically large sale for OB. And for the Super League, we are also right up in the wow category.’”
Our view
It’s great to see Danish football figures celebrate such a significant deal for one of their clubs.
Credit also to Newcastle’s scouting department for identifying such a top talent in a fairly modest European league.
Minteh looks like a top talent who could well have the makings of a future star.
Obviously it’s a bit early to say for definite, but we’ll see what happens over the coming year or two.
The likelihood is Newcastle will sent Minteh out on loan and monitor his progress.