Newcastle United are waiting for the right moment to unleash Yoane Wissa.
The hope was that they already would have done that by now. When Newcastle United spent £55million on Yoane Wissa, the belief was that he would immediately succeed in black and white to ease the pressure on Nick Woltemade’s shoulders.
Sadly for the Magpies, that has not happened. Instead, the 29-year-old has been sidelined with a knee injury. He is yet to make his debut for the club, with suggestions that Wissa might not return until after the international break.
That would be a blow for Eddie Howe, but there is also a need not to rush Wissa back and risk a further setback.
Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur - Carabao Cup Fourth Round
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Newcastle United still expect Yoane Wissa to shine
No matter when he makes his first appearance for Newcastle United, there is one thing that the club are convinced will happen.
That is according to the Athletic’s Chris Waugh, who has written about Wissa as part of a Q&A. The journalist was asked if there is any ‘buyer’s remorse’ when it comes to the Magpies’ summer signings, but he insists that is certainly not the case with Wissa.
Waugh has stated that Newcastle United are still ‘convinced’ that their new number nine is ‘exactly the sort of player who can lift the club up the Premier League table with his goals’.
That needs to be the case, as goals have been an issue in the Premier League. So far this season, only four different players have found the net in the league for Eddie Howe’s side. They are Nick Woltemade, Will Osula, Bruno Guimaraes and Jacob Murphy.
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The likes of Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes and Anthony Elanga are not chipping in at this moment in time, which has left the Magpies in the bottom half of the table.
If Howe can rely on a consistent scorer like Wissa to regularly find the back of the net then it should not be long before they surge up the Premier League table. However, that will only happen once the DR Congo international is fully fit and over this knee injury.
West Ham defeat summed up why Newcastle United desperately need Yoane Wissa
45 minutes into Newcastle United’s defeat to West Ham, Eddie Howe took drastic action. He decided to make a triple substitution that included Nick Woltemade coming off.
It was the earliest he has been taken off during his Toon career, with Will Osula taking his place through the middle.
The change had little to no impact on the game, as Osula failed to add to his tally of three goals in all competitions this season. While he made some positive runs, the 22-year-old was unable to inspire any sort of comeback.
The defeat had nothing to do with Osula’s performance, but it did highlight the need for Yoane Wissa. Osula has done well at times this season, but he remains unreliable.
In contrast, Newcastle think Wissa can be the opposite. They expect him to shine on the back of four successful seasons with Brentford.
That theory will soon be put to the test, although Howe remains uncertain on when Wissa will finally make his Toon debut.