By Lee Ryder
Yankuba Minteh marked his Brighton & Hove Albion debut with a well-taken goal during the Seagulls’ tour of Japan.
The winger Newcastle sold for £33million – despite not kicking a ball for the Magpies – did not take much time to make an impact in a clash against Kashima Antlers. Indeed, he scored a stunning solo goal after just 15 minutes against the J-League side in Tokyo before being taken off at half-time.
Minteh picked up a crisp pass as he entered the Antlers’ half before beating three defenders, dropping his shoulder and slotting it past the keeper in Brighton’s 5-1 win over the J-League side.
Minteh had spent last season on loan with Feyenoord where he scored 10 times for the Dutch side. But he was informed on his summer break that Newcastle would be prepared to sell him with Everton, Brighton and Lyon battling for his signature.
Eddie Howe revealed last week he would have rather held on to the speedy winger and said: “PSR was tight, it was very late. Very sad to lose Yankuba Minteh and Elliot, two outstanding young players.
“I would loved to have kept them, two outstanding players, really disappointed to lose them both but I think we were backed into a corner. We were in a very difficult position.”
The ecstatic social media manager at Brighton posted: “It’s a superb solo goal on his Albion debut, cutting inside before firing into the bottom corner from close range! The first of many for Minteh!”
Newcastle’s loan manager Shola Ameobi had been delighted with Minteh’s progress after a successful loan with Feyenoord. He said last month: “Yankuba Minteh done amazingly this year. I think the vision for him was to see if he could play at that level. It was a big jump coming from Denmark with Odense but what he’s done and the attitude he’s got he’s achieved that. He is athletically gifted but we knew he would develop tactically and technically.”
