The youngster has been tearing it up away from St James’ Park this season.
It hasn’t been the season many were hoping for at Newcastle United.
Eddie Howe’s side have been decimated by injuries, which torpedoed their Champions League campaign and has made the Premier League a real slog.
Last Monday night’s defeat to Chelsea was just another painful blow – as was Saturday’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester City – and while there isn’t much to cheer about at the moment, the Toon do have a very promising youngster out on loan who could replace Jacob Murphy in the XI next year.
Jacob Murphy’s performances this season
Newcastle completed the £12m signing of Murphy from Norwich City in July 2017, and while he’s since spent a couple of spells out on loan to West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield Wednesday, he has become a valuable part of the squad.
Last season, the Wembley-born winger made 43 appearances for the Magpies, in which he scored four goals and provided two assists as the club finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League for the first time in two decades.
| Starting XI on Jacob Murphy’s full debut |
|---|
| Newcastle United 2 – 3 Nottingham Forest: August 2017 |
| GK – Karl Darlow |
| RB – Jamie Sterry |
| CB – Chancel Mbemba |
| CB – Grant Hanley |
| LB – Jesus Gamez |
| CM – Henri Saivet |
| CM – Dan Barlaser |
| CAM – Mohamed Diame |
| LW – Ronaldo Aarons |
| RW – Jacob Murphy |
| ST – Aleksandar Mitrovic |
This year, the 29-year-old has been restricted to just 18 appearances, in which he has scored two goals and provided five assists, due to his shoulder injuries between October and late January.
In all, the 5 foot 10 ace has made 167 appearances for the Toon, and while he has undoubtedly been a useful squad player, his return of just 11 goals and 16 assists in that time isn’t enough for a team that wants to consistently challenge the big boys at home and on the continent.
So, Newcastle are lucky that one of their most talented youngsters is tearing it up on loan this year and could mount a serious challenge to Murphy next season.
Yankuba Minteh’s performances this season
So, the youngster in question is 19-year-old Gambian international Yankuba Minteh.
The immensely talented winger joined the Toon for just £7m from Danish side Odense Boldklub last summer before immediately being sent out on loan to Dutch giants Feyenoord.
Minteh has made 29 appearances for the Rotterdam outfit this season, and while 14 of those have come off the bench, he has an impressive return of eight goals and three assists.
The Bakoteh-born gem has taken it up a notch in recent weeks and is “on fire”, according to talent scout Jacek Kulig, scoring three goals in his last three appearances.
The youngster’s underlying numbers are outrageous as well.
| Yankuba Minteh’s Scout Report | |
|---|---|
| Stat | Percentile |
| Non-Penalty Goals | Top 1% |
| Non-Penalty Expected Goals | Top 1% |
| Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists | Top 1% |
| Progressive Carries | Top 1% |
| Successful Take-Ons | Top 1% |
| Touches in the Oppositions Penalty Area | Top 1% |
| Progressive Passes Received | Top 1% |
| Tackles | Top 1% |
| Shot-Creating Actions | Top 2% |
| Shots Total | Top 4%
|
According to FBref, which compares players in a similar position across the next best 14 competitions, the 19-year-old sits in the top 1% of wingers for non-penalty goals, non-penalty expected goals, progressive carries, successful take-ons, touches in the opposition’s penalty area, and many more, all per 90.
Ultimately, Howe and Co have a genuinely incredible talent on their hands in Minteh. While Murphy is a hard worker and has been deserving of his place in the squad over recent seasons, it looks like a matter of when, not if, he is replaced by the superb Gambian.
