Feyenoord manager Arne Slot has reiterated Eddie Howe’s comments that youngster Yankuba Minteh won’t be returning to the Magpies in January.
That’s according to Voetbal Primeur and Voetbal Nieuws, who cover comments from the Dutch boss today on the agreement for the Newcastle man and other Magpies players arriving at the club in future too.
Minteh joined Feyenoord on loan in the summer immediately after joining Newcastle in an €8m deal from Odense.
The idea was for him to get regular playing time away from St James Park and continue his development, as well as establishing himself in European football.
He’s done that so far, managing four goals and two assists in 17 games so far and earning plenty of rave reviews for his performances to date.
That had led to speculation that Newcastle could look to call him back in January to help bolster their own squad, which has been left decimated by injuries in the first half of this campaign.
That suggestion had been growing but has since been pulled back by Newcastle manager Eddie Howe, who has insisted it is not on the cards.
That’s now been repeated by his counterpart at Feyenoord, although it doesn’t mean he’s completely closed to the idea of further transfers between the two clubs if they’re proposed.
“No. I think their trainer has already indicated that that option is not contractually available,” he said regarding Minteh returning to St James Park.
“When they would like to do so, you might have a conversation. But it is not contractually possible.”
“We don’t rule anything out, but I follow European football,” he added on the subject of other deals in future.
“I think they need players more than they want to let them go. Unless they want to buy a player and rent it to us, but that doesn’t seem likely.”
