The fact that neither Bryan Mbeumo nor Yoane Wissa started the season as Newcastle United players perfectly sums up just how frustrating the summer transfer window has been for us.
Mbeumo was touted as one of our most sought-after targets at the beginning of the window, but his asking price and desire to go to Manchester United meant we were out of our depth there.
But Brentford themselves were the stumbling block in negotiations for Wissa, demanding £50m-plus after our bid worth £40m was turned down last week.
But what has Brentford boss Keith Andrews had to say in his pre-match presser ahead of their trip to Wearside tomorrow?
Speaking to the media ahead of Brentford’s trip to Sunderland this weekend, Bees boss Keith Andrews insists there had been no movement in the Wissa saga this week.
However, the 28-year-old will miss out on their squad once again, showing his situation is far from resolved despite their preference to keep him in West London:
“Yeah copy and paste from the other day: the exact same answer, nothing’s changed.”
“In terms of movement behind the scenes, I can’t see that, no movement behind the scenes. It’s very much the same as it was”
“But no (he will not play). Similar to the other day. My focus is on the group that has settled I suppose, and not got issues ongoing, which clearly Yoane has.”
The bad news here is that Brentford seems to be adopting the same strong stance on him staying, insisting nothing has changed via Andrews, but an update from The Mail’s Craig Hope paints a slightly more positive picture today.
He reports that Wissa will sit out the game at Sunderland as he waits to land a move to Newcastle – his top priority despite interest from Spurs and Saudi – although it seems a new arrival at Brentford remains key to his exit hopes.
As for Newcastle’s stance, Hope adds that Newcastle will turn their focus to a second striker signing once Woltemade’s £69m move is confirmed, with Wissa remaining a prime target to replace the released Wilson and Strand Larsen now unlikely to sign.
“Nothing’s changed”
Keith Andrews says striker Yoane Wissa will not feature once again in the match at Sunderland and remains confident he will be at Brentford at the end of the transfer window 🐝 pic.twitter.com/DfgJOcUPHP
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 28, 2025