The summer transfer window is heating up, particularly for top-flight English teams, as the Premier League season kicks off in under a week. Clubs will want to bring in new players as soon as possible, whilst their own assets may be poached. This can often create a merry-go-round effect, with certain deals resulting in the completion of others. Newcastle United’s pursuit of Yoane Wissa may be helped by Brentford’s pursuit of Dango Ouattara.
Yoane Wissa to Newcastle United Unlocked By Fellow Premier League Transfer
Talks Have Been Positive
Craig Hope, of the Daily Mail, has revealed that he has been told that Brentford’s potential signing of Ouattara “will unlock” a move for Wissa to Newcastle. This comes as good news for the Magpies: despite Wissa “pushing to join”, it is the Bees who are reluctant to lose another star player, and will attempt to haggle the price up.
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Hope disclosed this in reference to Mark McAdam’s report that “initial talks” have been held between Bournemouth and Brentford around a deal for Ouattara. There has been no agreement reached yet, but “talks are understood to have been positive”. The 23-year-old wants to leave the South Coast and has made that clear to his club.
Will Bournemouth Struggle Without Dango Ouattara?
Ouattara’s request to depart after two-and-a-half years is a strange one: he started 21 matches in the league last season, played in 32, and above all, a move to Brentford is not really a step up from Bournemouth. They are both clubs of similar historical status, who had equally successful seasons last campaign, though they are losing key players this summer. If anything, the Bees losing manager Thomas Frank is a bigger blow.
With other starters in Milos Kerkez, Illia Zabarnyi, Dean Huijsen, and Kepa Arrizabalaga all leaving as well, there has been a lot of turnover, which may worry fans. However, in Ouattara’s position, the Cherries actually have quite a lot of depth. He was looking likely to share minutes and starts with Marcus Tavernier regardless, and so the Englishman can be the replacement.
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Furthermore, David Brooks and Romain Faivre sit on the bench as pretty strong depth options. Luis Sinisterra may be available (though injuries are a concern), whilst Hamed Traore is also capable of playing wide. Some of these players may have seemed likely to leave this window, though it shouldn’t be too difficult to change this. The only real area of concern in losing the Burkina Faso international is in his incredible versatility.