Newcastle have made an improved £40m bid for Brentford striker Yoane Wissa as they seek to reinforce Eddie Howe’s attack amid uncertainty regarding the future of Alexander Isak.
As Isak trains separately from his Newcastle teammates in an attempt to force a move to Liverpool, Wissa missed Brentford’s 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest last weekend as he, in turn, attempted to push through a transfer to St James’ Park. Newcastle insist Isak will not be allowed to leave the club this summer. Wissa’s potential arrival could yet alter that narrative.
Despite suggestions from within St James’ Park that Wissa is seen primarily as a replacement for Callum Wilson following his move to West Ham earlier this summer, it is striking how much the 28-year-old’s Premier League scoring statistics from last season mirror those of Isak. While Wissa scored 19 goals in 35 appearances for Brentford, all from open play, Isak managed 23 goals in 34 appearances, with four of those resulting from penalties.
Although Wissa, who turns 29 next month, has only one year remaining on his contract, Brentford are reluctant to lose him after seeing manager Thomas Frank depart for Tottenham, captain Christian Nørgaard head to Arsenal, and Bryan Mbeumo, Wissa’s strike parter at the Gtech Community Stadium, leave for Manchester United this summer.
Newcastle’s initial £25m offer for the DR Congo striker was rejected but it was widely expected they would return. Their latest offer, submitted within hours of Isak’s incendiary Instagram post in which he claimed Newcastle had broken promises and breached his trust, is believed to be an initial £35m with a further £5m in add ons.
Brentford are thought to want between £50m-£60m for Wissa but could well accept Newcastle’s offer given the player’s attempts to leave the club, which has included deleting all Brentford references from his social media accounts. They have also added forward Dango Ouattara to their ranks, increasing Newcastle’s confidence over a deal being done in the coming days.
Any agreement is unlikely to come in time for Howe to field Wissa in Monday night’s hotly-anticipated Premier League meeting with Liverpool at St James’ Park.
