Yankuba Minteh returned to St James’ Park as a Brighton player for Newcastle United’s latest FA Cup clash.
Newcastle were forced to sell Yankuba Minteh this summer to avoid a PSR breach and a potential points deduction.
Minteh has thrived at Brighton following his £30m move, and he made his return to Tyneside for Sunday’s FA Cup fifth-round clash.
In a dramatic cup tie, Danny Welbeck’s goal in extra-time means Newcastle have crashed out of the FA Cup. The only opportunity to end the trophy drought will come later this month in the Carabao Cup final.
Yankuba Minteh was heavily involved in the game, giving away a penalty early on which was converted by Alexander Isak before scoring for Brighton to draw the visitors level.
Newcastle United fans react to Yankuba Minteh performance
Minteh never made a senior appearance for Newcastle, but he was viewed as a promising talent. It has been suggested that Newcastle will regret selling Minteh, and he showed why on Sunday.
However, he endured a tough start to the game when he conceded a penalty, and Newcastle fans on social media joked that Minteh was doing his former side a favour.
One fan wrote: “30 million profit and he’s given us a pen in the cup, Minteh I thank you”.
Another posted: “Agent Minteh”, while another fan said: “Minteh’s first goal contribution for #NUFC”
Minteh then fired Brighton level and refused to celebrate out of respect for his former side. Newcastle fans on social media were all saying the same thing.
“Fair play to Minteh not celebrating,” said one fan, while another wrote: “Muted celebration from Minteh. Respect.”
How Yankuba Minteh fared against Newcastle United
Minteh missed the last Newcastle clash through injury, so he would have wanted to impress against his former side.
He looked deflated after conceding an early penalty, but he was also one of Brighton’s biggest threats and he cut through Newcastle’s defence to score the equaliser.
Here are a collection of Minteh’s stats from the FA Cup clash against Brighton:
| Minutes played | 69 |
| Goals | 1 |
| Touches | 32 |
| Passes completed | 67% (12/18) |
| Key passes | 2 |
| Dribbles completed | 50% (1/2) |
| Duels won | 57% (4/7) |
Not only did Minteh score, but he also completed two key passes and won more than half of his seven duels.
Once he recovered from his penalty incident, he enjoyed a strong performance at his old side.
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