Newcastle Untied have reportedly agreed a £55million deal to sign Brentford striker Yoane Wissa, hours after sanctioning the sale of Alexander Isak to Liverpool.
The Magpies relented on Sunday and finally gave the green light for star talisman Isak to make the move to Anfield for a fee in the region of £130million. Isak had steadfastly refused to train or play for Newcastle as he sought to push through the transfer.
Wissa had taken a similar position at Brentford. While the DR Congo international did train for the Bees, he was not selected for any of the three opening Premier League games, from which they have taken three points, and on Sunday released a lengthy Instagram statement claiming Brentford had made a written commitment that he could leave the club in this transfer window.
Like Isak, he is now set to get his wish, and is said to have arrived at Newcastle’s training ground to undergo a medical ahead of a four-year deal.
His arrival will give Newcastle the two strikers they desired to make an Isak sale palatable, the Magpies having signed Germany forward Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart in a £69m move last week.
Woltemade, Wissa must hit ground running at Newcastle
The prospective signing of Wissa takes some of the pressure off the 23-year-old Woltemade, who was the subject of significant interest from Bayern Munich following a breakout season for Stuttgart.
Unlike his soon-to-be new team-mate, Wissa is proven in the Premier League, having scored 19 goals in the division last season. He found the net 12 times in the 2023-24 campaign.
But both he and Woltemade will need to hit the ground running for a Newcastle side that has struggled in attack with Isak’s absence leaving them to rely on false-nine Anthony Gordon and the unconvincing William Osula up front. Gordon still has two games of a suspension to serve following a straight red card against Liverpool.
Newcastle have taken two points from their opening three games despite impressive performances in the opener against Aston Villa and in a thrilling 3-2 defeat to Liverpool. Saturday’s dour 0-0 draw with Leeds United meant they have failed to find the net in two games already this season.
For 28-year-old Wissa, the move to Newcastle gives him the chance to play Champions League football, and he can look forward to a mouth-watering clash with Barcelona on September 16 at St James’ Park.
Newcastle will also face Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica, Athletic Bilbao, Marseille, Bayer Leverkusen, PSV Eindhoven and holders Paris Saint-Germain in the league phase.
