Yankub Minteh is closing in on a move to Premier League giants Newcastle United and will be left out of Odense BK’s Danish top-flight clash with FC Midtjylland this weekend.
Nicknamed ‘Messi’ and labelled an ‘extraordinary’ talent, talks between Newcastle United and Yankubah Minteh appear to have sped up in the last few days.
As recently as earlier this week, OB director Bjorn Wesstrom indicated that an agreement between the two clubs was ‘nowhere near’ being reached.
How times have changed.
According to the Northern Echo, Newcastle have now agreed a £6 million fee with Odense. 18-year-old Minteh will undergo a medical with Eddie Howe’s side in the coming days, with Wesstrom now confirming that he will not be part of the squad for Saturday’s Midtjylland meeting.
Newcastle United close on Yankuba Minteh deal
“It is a difficult decision,” the director tells ADK. “But with the risks and opportunities that are in this case, I have concluded that it is overall the best decision for OB that he (Minteh) sits out for the match against FC Midtjylland.”
OB themselves admit that there are ‘close negotiations with a foreign club regarding the same of Yankuba Minteh’. Those negotiations ‘have now reached such a stage that Minteh will not be in the squad’.
In short, the jet-heeled teen is in advanced talks over a deal that should see him become Newcastle’s first signing since securing a return to the Champions League.
Likened to World Cup winner Lionel Messi due to his jinking stride and wand of a left foot, Minteh has scored four goals and set up six more during an excellent breakthrough campaign in Denmark’s top-flight.
“(Minteh’s development) is fantastic,” Tonny Hermansen, the head of Odense’s academy, tells Tipsbladet. “That’s the crazy thing about football. We’re talking about an 18-year-old who comes up and becomes a crowd favourite.
“He has some extraordinary qualities such as his speed. He catches the eye because something happens when he has the ball. At the same time, he has got something defensive in his game without taking the offensiveness away from him.
“Therefore, he is a player with huge potential.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
