Brighton and Hove Albion fans got their first real glimpse of Yankuba Minteh in the friendly with Kashima Antlers. There’s enough evidence to suggest that they should be excited with their new arrival.
The transfer of Yankuba Minteh to Brighton on 1 July is one that flew under the radar of many. With Newcastle United having to sell players to avoid the possibility of breaking Premier League profit and sustainability regulations, Minteh was deemed surplus to requirements and allowed to join their Premier League rivals.
Despite not making a senior appearance for Newcastle, in an ideal world, Eddie Howe would have liked to keep the 19-year-old at the club based on his potential ability. But needs must, and while some eyebrows were raised at Brighton spending a reported £30 million on the Gambian, it could turn out to be a bargain in years to come.
Minteh introduced himself to Brighton fans with an exceptional solo goal in their opening friendly of their pre-season tour of Japan. He took just 15 minutes to race on to a pass and jink past two Kashima Antlers defenders – leaving one sat down on the floor in the process – and score the opening goal of the game.
Yankuba's first goal in blue and white! 🇬🇲 pic.twitter.com/gqpLq4G7OD
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) July 24, 2024
None of that will surprise Feyenoord supporters, who got to enjoy Minteh for the entire 2023-24 campaign. After signing for Newcastle from Danish side Odense Boldklub, he’d been sent to the Eredivisie side to develop.
Across the season, he made 37 competitive appearances for Feyenoord, but 15 of those came from the bench and he averaged just 54 minutes per game. That didn’t stop him from having an impact when he did appear on the pitch, though. His 16 goal involvements (11 goals, 5 assists) saw him average a goal or assist every 124 minutes – only top scorer Santiago Giménez (94 mins) was a more frequent threat in the squad of those to play at least 500 minutes of action.
Fifteen of his goal involvements came in the Eredivisie (10 goals, 5 assists), and at 19 years and 302 days old on his final appearance of the season against Excelsior in May, he was the youngest player to have at least 15 goal involvements in the top six leagues in Europe in 2023-24.
Much of his threat came from situations where he was allowed to run with the ball at opponents. His average of 22.1 ball carries per 90 minutes was more than any other midfielder or forward in the Eredivisie last season, while he also led the same group of players for carry distance per 90 (284.3 metres).
Only Osame Sahraoui (10.0 and 8.2) averaged more take-ons both overall and in the opposition half of players to play at least 1,000 Eredivisie minutes in 2023-24, but Minteh was the most prolific dribbler in the opposition box, averaging 2.1 take-ons per game in the area.
Despite playing just 48% of possible league minutes for Feyenoord last season, the winger – who is most comfortable on the right side, but can also play on the left – was in the top 10 players in the Eredivisie for shots following a carry (26) and shot involvements following a carry (38). He was also the only player in the league to score as many as four goals in this manner.
Arne Slot, who has since left Feyenoord for Liverpool, demanded a high-intensity pressing game last season, with his side winning possession in the attacking third more often than any other Eredivisie team in 2023-24 (229) and scoring a league-high 11 goals from high turnovers. Minteh was responsible for three of those goals, while only Malik Tillman (1.6) averaged more possession regains in the final third of the pitch per 90 than him (1.4) of players with at least 1,000 minutes played last season.
New Brighton boss Fabian Hürzeler, who at just 31 years old will become the youngest Premier League manager of all time, has an exciting talent on his hands.
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