Newcastle United loanee Yankuba Minteh was the star of the show as Feyenoord battered rivals Ajax in the Eredivisie on Sunday.
Minteh scored twice and assisted one as Feyenoord beat Ajax 6-0 in the Dutch league on Sunday.
It's a rare case of a Newcastle loan actually working out with the story of Garang Kuol's ill-fated loan to Hearts and his subsequent loan to FC Volendam more typical of our players' experiences.
In fact, it's going so well for the 19-year-old Gambia international that Feyenoord are desperate to keep him at the club next season.
It also seems that the player himself wouldn't be opposed to hanging around, but he told ESPN (via Feyenoord Pings) that his future is still up in the air and in Newcastle's hands.
“No. My focus is here. I am a Newcastle player, but at the moment I play for Feyenoord.
“Would I like to play for Feyenoord next season? I don’t know. Feyenoord are a great club and if I get the opportunity, I would like to stay, but it depends on Newcastle United’s decision.”
There's definitely a growing call to "bring him home", albeit a home he's only visited once since signing for the club.
Minteh's performances for Feyenoord this season, while not without criticism, have been so good that Newcastle fans are left wondering why we persist with Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy when we have an on-fire alternative on the books.
Newcastle contemplated cancelling Minteh's loan in January when the injury crisis was at its peak, but decided that it would be better for his development long-term were he to stay at Feyenoord until the end of the season.
Eddie Howe is likely to want to assess Minteh with his own eyes over the pre-season, so we expect to see him playing in a few friendlies before Howe makes up his mind what his next move should be.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
14 | 18 | 35 |
2 |
Chelsea
|
15 | 17 | 31 |
3 |
Arsenal
|
15 | 14 | 29 |
4 |
Manchester City
|
15 | 6 | 27 |
5 |
Nottingham Forest
|
15 | 1 | 25 |
6 |
Aston Villa
|
15 | 0 | 25 |
7 |
Brighton
|
15 | 3 | 24 |
8 |
Bournemouth
|
15 | 3 | 24 |
9 |
Brentford
|
15 | 3 | 23 |
10 |
Fulham
|
15 | 2 | 23 |
11 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
15 | 12 | 20 |
12 |
Newcastle United
|
15 | -2 | 20 |
13 |
Manchester United
|
15 | 1 | 19 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
15 | -9 | 16 |
15 |
Everton
|
14 | -7 | 14 |
16 |
Leicester
|
15 | -9 | 14 |
17 |
Crystal Palace
|
15 | -6 | 13 |
18 |
Wolves
|
15 | -14 | 10 |
19 |
Ipswich
|
15 | -13 | 9 |
20 |
Southampton
|
15 | -20 | 5 |