Yankuba Minteh Everton transfer hopes rest on Newcastle resuming Dominic Calvert-Lewin talks

Newcastle United remain firm on their valuation of Yankuba Minteh despite reports the player is keen on a move to Everton.

The winger is available this summer if a club can meet the price tag set by the Magpies, currently understood to be around £40m.

That figure means any opportunity for the Blues to act on interest in the teenager is likely, at this stage of the summer, to be dependent on a resumption in talks between the clubs over Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

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Newcastle are long-standing admirers of the Everton striker, who scored a late penalty to earn his side a draw at St James’ Park back in April. The Magpies made contact with the Blues over the availability of the 27-year-old earlier this month. However, they walked away from talks this week, partly due to Everton’s valuation of the forward.

It was against the backdrop of those talks that the potential for Minteh to head in the opposite direction, in what would have been a separate deal, emerged. Once they broke down the chances of the Blues being in a position to move for the 19-year-old at this point in the window decreased.

Reports have claimed Minteh remains keen on a switch to Merseyside but the ECHO understands claims he has been threatened with reserve team football as a result are wide of the mark.

What happens next may be dependent on the future of his team-mate Callum Wilson and the domino effect his departure from Newcastle could create should he leave the north east. Eddie Howe would love to turn to Calvert-Lewin should Wilson depart - with several clubs understood to be weighing up a move for the 32-year-old. Therefore, sources in the north east are not ruling out the potential for Newcastle to return to the table for the Everton No.9 later in the summer. That could pave the way for renewed consideration over a deal for Minteh.

The Blues have spent this week pursuing a deal for Iliman Ndiaye, the Marseille forward who is understood to be close to completing his move from southern France, but Minteh is also on the club's radar following a successful season on loan at Feyenoord. Any potential for any deal later this summer would likely be a welcome development in the ongoing search for further options out wide, where manager Sean Dyche is desperately short of depth.

Meanwhile, Calvert-Lewin is yet to sign the new contract on offer to him - meaning Everton could lose him on a free next summer if they do not agree to his sale before September. Sanctioning his departure would be a move loaded with risk given Calvert-Lewin’s importance to Blues boss Dyche’s approach, but an opportunity for talks to create the conditions in which Minteh might be obtainable would strengthen Newcastle’s position.