Newcastle United news: Yoane Wissa’s move to St James’ Park was confirmed on deadline day.
Brentford boss Keith Andrews has admitted he didn’t want to lose Yoane Wissa after his £55m move to Newcastle United was confirmed on deadline day. Wissa had been a target for the Magpies throughout the summer, but Brentford’s reluctance to lose him following a summer of transition at the Gtech Community Stadium meant that an agreement between the two clubs looked unlikely to be sanctioned.
However, Alexander Isak’s sale to Liverpool forced the Magpies into action as they struck a deal, worth £55m, for the DR Congo international. Wissa will have to be patient to make his debut for his new club, however, after sustaining an injury whilst on international duty.
That knock, picked up in the latter stages of DR Congo’s defeat against Senegal in midweek, ruled Wissa out of Newcastle United’s clash with Wolves on Saturday.
Speaking about the striker ahead of that game, Eddie Howe said: “He won’t make this game,” Howe said when asked about Wissa. “I saw him for the first time yesterday and he’s feeling the effects so he won’t be available. He’ll go away for tests and to see a specialist so we’ll wait and see.”
Keith Andrews reveals Yoane Wissa transfer ‘understanding’
Wissa, much like Isak, didn’t feature for his club during August as he tried to force a move to Tyneside. The 29-year-old did train with the Bees during the final few weeks of the month, but was not selected by Andrews in any of his three Premier League matchday squads, nor his squad for their Carabao Cup win over Bournemouth.
Wissa scored 19 Premier League goals last season and, unsurprisingly, Andrews has recently admitted that he had anticipated Wissa remaining at the club and eventually reintegrating him into first-team matters after being reluctant to see his key man leave the capital. Asked about Wissa’s transfer to St James’ Park for the first time since the closure of the summer transfer window, Andrews said: “Understanding of it I would say more than anything. We’ve spoken previously about it and all along I expected Yoane to stay.
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“Right up until the very last press conference before we played Sunderland, he was nowhere near a move. That’s pretty much where I was. I wanted Yoane to stay.
“I didn’t want to lose that amount of goals out of the building but equally I’m very understanding of the way this club works and the medium to long-term future of the club is very important.”
Despite losing Wissa on the final day of the summer transfer window, the Bees were able to replace him with Bournemouth’s Dango Ouattara. Newcastle United, meanwhile, also made a move to sign Stuttgart striker Nick Woltemade with Wissa and the German set to lead the line in a transformed front two.
Isak and Callum Wilson’s respective moves to Liverpool and West Ham had left Howe’s squad desperately short of options up-front. Anthony Gordon, who also missed the clash against Wolves, started the season as a striker but will now likely shift back to the wing once his suspension concludes.
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