LYON have become the latest club to make a formal approach to Newcastle United for Yankuba Minteh, with the winger now looking all-but-certain to leave the Magpies in the next few days.

Newcastle have to make a sale before the June 30 accountancy deadline to ensure they remain compliant with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability regulations and avoid the possibility of a points deduction.

A number of different options have been assessed, but while the likes of Martin Dubravka, Miguel Almiron and Callum Wilson could all leave Tyneside before the end of the transfer window, the Newcastle hierarchy have accepted there is very little chance of being able to move on any of the trio this week.

As a result, they have been focusing their attention on Minteh, who is now set to be sold even though he is yet to play a single senior game for the Magpies.

The 19-year-old winger joined Newcastle from Danish club Odense last summer for an initial fee of £6.5m.

He spent last season on loan at Feyenoord, scoring ten goals and claiming five assists in 27 Eredivisie appearances, and Eddie Howe had initially hoped to be able to assess the teenager in pre-season, with a view to potentially including him in his first-team squad for next season.

However, the looming PSR deadline is set to scupper those plans, with Newcastle having invited offers for Minteh in the last week or so.

Everton expressed a firm interest during the ongoing discussions over the future of Dominis Calvert-Lewin, who is a major Newcastle target, although the two deals would be completely separate if they were to go through.

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Minteh is understood to be keen on a move to Goodison Park as he would like the opportunity to test himself in the Premier League after a season in the Netherlands.

Borussia Dortmund have also held talks, but it is Ligue 1 side Lyon that are currently pushing hardest in an attempt to sign the Gambia international, who scored international goals against Gabon and the Seychelles earlier this month.

Lyon view Minteh as an attractive long-term investment, and have suggested they are willing to go very close to Newcastle’s current asking price of around £40m. At this stage, no other club is understood to have indicated they are ready to go as high as that figure.

If Newcastle can secure a deal for anywhere near to £40m, they will have successfully plugged their PSR shortfall, enabling them to push on with their other plans for the summer.

The Magpies remain confident of being able to push through a deal for Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford, and continue to hold talks over Calvert-Lewin.

The bulk of Newcastle’s summer budget has, however, been earmarked for the purchase of a wide-attacker who will primarily play on the right-hand side.

An ambitious move for Michael Olise proved unsuccessful, with the Crystal Palace forward instead heading to Bayern Munich, but Newcastle continue to be interested in West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen and Leeds United’s Crysencio Summerville.