Newcastle player Alexander Isak wearing sunglasses arrives at the ground prior to the Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and Everton FC at St James' Park on May 25, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)placeholder image
Newcastle player Alexander Isak wearing sunglasses arrives at the ground prior to the Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and Everton FC at St James' Park on May 25, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Brentford are ready to let Yoane Wissa leave with Newcastle United keen on finalising a deal.
Newcastle are expected to renew their push to sign Wissa over the weekend as Brentford close in on signing a replacement. The Bees have agreed a club-record £42.5million deal to sign AFC Bournemouth’s Dango Ouattara, with the Burkina Faso international set to undergo a medical on Friday.
Once completed, Wissa will be granted permission to leave the Gtech Community Stadium, with talks with Newcastle centring around a £35million package, according to the Daily Mail.
Liverpool had a £110million bid rejected for Isak on August 1 and have vowed only to return with an improved offer when the Magpies make progress on signing a replacement.
Potential Yoane Wissa arrival unlikely to impact Alexander Isak
Interest in Wissa has led some Liverpool fans to believe signing him would green light Isak’s exit. However, in reality, it is thought to mean very little with Callum Wilson’s free transfer to West Ham United meaning the striker search started long before Isak expressed his desire to leave.
Howe said: “We've been looking to sign a striker all summer. We lost Callum Wilson at the end of last year so a striker was a necessity for us all through the window. That's not changed, we're still in that position.
“Of course, for loads of different reasons we haven't been able to sign one, but we still have time to do that.”
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When the idea of selling Isak and going with Wissa and Anthony Gordon, who will play as a makeshift striker in Saturday’s Premier League opener away to Aston Villa, until January was floated, Howe replied: “I'll go with whatever hand I'm dealt.
“That's always been my way of thinking, again going back to an earlier point of not giving excuses or looking for excuses because I think that spreads right through the squad. The idea would be that we sign a striker.
“I think we need one irrespective of what happens to Alex's situation. With the amount of games I think we need that and that's what we're trying to do.”
Newcastle United have tried to sign Alexander Isak’s replacement
The plan has been for Newcastle to sign Wissa and a ‘high-profile’ striker before letting Isak go, however the latter part in particular has proven difficult with Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko publicly turning down moves to St James’ Park.
Howe added: “As I said, we're looking to sign a striker and we're trying to sign the best one that we can. I'm very reluctant to put anyone in world-class status, I'll let you do that. I just focus on trying to bring the one in that we feel suits us and the way that we play and can make a difference. They're the key qualities that I look at.
“I think it's a very small field. The centre-forward market this year is as tight as I've ever known it really. Yes, we've been active for a few and for whatever reason they haven't happened, I can't deny that. But we're still actively looking. I still believe that there is someone there that can fit our requirements.”
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