Summary Newcastle have signed Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon this year but another talent boasts all the tools to replace Allan Saint-Maximin. He's currently thriving on loan and scored a lovely goal last weekend. Just 19, the player has been described as a 'special' talent.
Newcastle United's transfer window was largely driven by the narrative of long-term strategy, with Eddie Howe's side making requisite moves to preserve the club's newfound prominence.
Indeed, following the lucrative PIF takeover and consequent appointment of Howe in the later stage of 2021, the Magpies swiftly rose from their lowly Premier League position, then utilised the new affluence as the framework for a successful season, defying expectations with a fourth-placed finish last term.
Now with Champions League football on the horizon, the outfit's future is one of immense promise, and despite a stuttering start to the present season, the St. James' Park side will be confident of further promise this year.
How much did Newcastle spend this summer?
Newcastle's squad has very much been reformed since the momentous club takeover, and after such solid work over the past 20 or so months, moves were made this summer to consolidate this new position of power.
Indeed, Sandro Tonali was signed from AC Milan for £55m to bolster the midfield, while the prolific Harvey Barnes was swiped from relegated Leicester City in a £39m deal; young dynamos Tino Livramento (£32m) and Lewis Hall (£28m obligation) were both signed for large fees to bolster the backline, with the aces playing left and right back respectively.
These signings have not quite had the desired, instantaneous effect – even if Tonali and Barnes did both score on their debut during a 5-1 rout over Aston Villa in August – with the last three matches resulting in defeat against Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Anthony Gordon, a £45m acquisition from Everton in January, has started the season confidently and looks a fine replacement for the mercurial Allan Saint-Maximin, who left the club for Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli in a £23m transfer this summer.
However, the true heir to that throne may lie outside English shores right now, with Magpies talent Yankuba Minteh thriving out on loan in the Netherlands.
Who is Yankuba Minteh?
Signed from Danish side Odense Boldklub in July for roughly £6m, the 19-year-old Gambian forward completed an instant loan move to Dutch champions Feyenoord this summer, with Howe's view that he will be integrated into the squad next season.
Praised for his "high potential" by Magpies sporting director Dan Ashworth, Minteh excelled in Denmark last season and posted four goals and six assists from 18 matches for his former outfit, heralded as a "special" talent by one Danish scout for his dynamism and electricity in attacking transition.
And now, in the early phase of the current campaign, the winger is already being lauded for his efforts in the Eredivisie, netting a delightful goal in Feyenoord's last match, artfully weaving around the keeper with a graceful gait before nonchalantly firing into an open net to cap off a convincing 5-1 victory over Utrecht.
Given his innate dribbling abilities and finesse on the ball, Minteh could indeed prove to be the perfect successor to Saint-Maximin's position in the Tyneside squad, replacing the fleet-footed Frenchman and perhaps even surpassing his quality at the club.
As per FBref, Minteh has averaged 9.23 progressive carries per game so far with Feyenoord, dazzling with his ball progression and destructive qualities in bringing the ball upfield.
This bears a semblance to Saint-Maximin, who currently ranks among the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries per 90 (7.29), by this measure, Minteh is on his way to becoming one of the most prolific ball-carriers in the game.
Once hailed a "wizard" by 90min's Graeme Bailey, Saint-Maximin was never the most consistent of goalscorers and only scored 13 goals for Newcastle across 124 appearances, and given Minteh's early promise and "magic" ability to rival the 26-year-old's – as claimed by Odense's chief executive Steffen Nielsen – the Gambian could surpass his performances.
Howe likely did the right thing in loaning him out this season, with Barnes and Gordon expected to get the majority of the match action on the wings, but neither boast the same intrinsic level of explosiveness, and Minteh could be a unique and frightening weapon once deployed on Premier League defences.