Eddie Howe defends Newcastle United sale of Yankuba Minteh to Brighton
Scott Wilson
4 – 5 minutes
EDDIE HOWE has defended the decision to sell Yankuba Minteh to Brighton this summer, but admitted the winger would have been ideally suited to the Newcastle United team he is in the process of building on Tyneside.
Minteh left Newcastle without having made a single senior appearance for the club when he made a £30m switch to the Amex Stadium at the end of June.
Having spent last season on loan in the Dutch Eredivisie with Feyenoord, the 20-year-old was sacrificed along with Elliot Anderson to raise funds that were needed to ensure the Magpies did not breach the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability (PSR) regulations.
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Minteh has quickly established himself as a regular first-team starter with Brighton, but while he admits he did not initially want to lose the youngster, Howe maintains that sanctioning his departure was the ultimately the right move.
“In my opinion, it was absolutely the right thing to do, but it still hurts to have done it,” said the Newcastle boss. “We had no other option, and no matter what the narrative is in the future, regardless of how Elliot or Yankuba do, it was still the right thing in my opinion, for the benefit of Newcastle.
“We couldn’t breach PSR, couldn’t face a points deduction, and the only two deals we had on the table at that time were the two deals that we did.
“We didn’t want to sell Yankuba at all. We believed in his potential, and everything about his profile fitted what we needed. But we had to make a decision based on finances.”
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Minteh benefited massively from last season’s loan spell in the Dutch top-flight, where he played under current Liverpool boss Arne Slot.
There was suggestions, at the start of the summer, that the Gambia international might have been destined for another loan departure if he had stayed on Tyneside, but Howe says Minteh would have been part of Newcastle’s first-team squad this season had he not been moved on.
“The plan would have been for him to be involved,” he said. “If he was ours, we would have utilised his skillset and the attributes he has.
“We know, tomorrow, going against him, we’re going to have to defend very well because he’s got standout qualities – pace, power, a lovely left foot. We’re well aware of his strengths.”
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler is clearly a big fan of the winger, having thrust him straight into the Seagulls’ first team ahead of Simon Adingra.
Minteh is expected to feature in the visiting starting line-up this afternoon, with Howe having been impressed with the ease with which he has settled into life in the Premier League.
“I wouldn’t say I’m massively surprised (that he’s starting for Brighton),” said Howe. “I watched him a lot last year, and I thought he did very well.
“The challenge always, when you come to the Premier League, is different, the intensity, the physical nature of the Premier League can often be a shock for players, especially younger ones.
“But I think he’s dealt with that really well, and you can see from his early games that he looks super-fit. He looks really confident and at home in the environment that he’s in, so full credit to him.”
