Brentford have reportedly agreed a deal for Bournemouth forward Dango Ouattara — a move that could pave the way for Newcastle United to sign Yoane Wissa.
The Magpies have been pursuing Wissa for weeks as Liverpool chase their star striker, Alexander Isak.
Eddie Howe had been interested in signing the Brentford forward before Isak informed the club of his desire to leave, with the original plan being to play the two together.
Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike was another target for Newcastle, but Liverpool swooped in and ruthlessly agreed a deal to buy him for an initial £69million.
MORE: Newcastle keeping Isak ‘against his wishes’ now ‘most likely’ outcome in Liverpool transfer blow
Despite landing the Frenchman, the Premier League champions made a £110m bid for Isak, which was swiftly rejected by the Geordies.
The nature of that rejection saw the Reds take a step back from negotiations. They will only return with an improved offer if Newcastle give them encouragement to do so.
Isak is currently not training with the Newcastle first team and is essentially on strike to force his dream transfer to Anfield.
The first domino in that chain may have fallen after Brentford agreed a deal to sign Ouattara from Premier League rivals Bournemouth.
According to reports, there’s an agreement in place between the Bees and the Cherries, with Ouattara expected to make the switch for £37m plus £5m in add-ons.
Ahead of a club-record deal for Brentford, the 23-year-old ‘will travel for a medical on Friday’, per The Athletic.
First reported by Foot Mercato, the French outlet wrote:
Bournemouth will make a lucrative move for Dango Ouattara. Arriving at the Cherries in January 2023 from Lorient for €22.5 million (around €27 million with bonuses), the Burkinabe international will bring in just over €40 million for his club. According to our information, the 23-year-old will join Brentford, another Premier League side.
Meanwhile, The Athletic claims Ouattara ‘pushed for the move’ as he was ‘unhappy’ at the Vitality Stadium.
This is said to be due to ‘not feeling the trust of head coach Andoni Iraola’, with Brentford having ‘convinced’ the Burkina Faso international to replace Bryan Mbeumo and essentially become their most important player.
After registering 11 goals and nine assists in 88 games for the Cherries, the versatile forward becomes the club’s first major attacking departure this summer.
He follows left-back Milos Kerkez and centre-backs Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi out of the Vitality Stadium, leaving after two-and-a-half years.
As touched on before, this transfer could open the door for Wissa to join Newcastle — which in turn could pave the way for Isak’s move to Liverpool.
While Wissa has never been viewed as a direct replacement for Isak, his arrival should tempt Arne Slot’s side back to the negotiating table.
Other strikers Newcastle have been linked with include Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.
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