Newcastle to explore Yoane Wissa sale, less than a year after £55m transfer

AFC BournemouthArsenalAston VillaBrentfordBrighton & Hove AlbionBurnleyChelseaCrystal PalaceEvertonFulhamLeeds UnitedLiverpoolManchester CityManchester UnitedNewcastle UnitedNottingham ForestSunderlandTottenham HotspurWest Ham UnitedWolverhampton WanderersScores & ScheduleStandingsFantasyThe Athletic FC NewsletterPodcastsPremier Wissa has scored just three goals since his summer move to St James' Park. George Wood/Getty Images Share article31Newcastle United will explore selling Yoane Wissa in the summer, less than a year after signing him for a fee rising to £55million. Wissa joined Newcastle from Brentford on September 1 after a protracted pursuit that encompassed most of the summer window. The striker, who is on a long-term contract, wants to stay at St James’ Park. Wissa was not the priority target to replace Callum Wilson, but after failed attempts to lure strikers including Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike and Jorgen Strand Larsen to Tyneside, Newcastle relented at the last and met Brentford’s take-to-or-leave-it asking price. The 29-year-old has gone on to make just 24 appearances for Eddie Howe’s side, starting only one of the last 16 games, with a lack of pre-season and a knee injury picked up before his first training session severely hampering his acclimatisation to his new club. Wissa returned from his knee injury quicker than expected and decided not to represent the Democratic Republic of Congo at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations so he could focus on being fully fit for Newcastle and his country’s World Cup play-off against Jamaica in March. Newcastle are now actively looking to move Wissa on in the summer window, even if doing so will likely see them take a significant loss on the price they paid just eight months ago. The Athletic reported in September the deal included a 25% sell on clause. Wissa’s arrival late in the window was a direct response to Alexander Isak’s sale to Liverpool, which was also finalised on September 1 after a summer-long saga, and came at a time when Newcastle did not have a chief executive or sporting director in place to oversee things — David Hopkinson and Ross Wilson have since filled those roles respectively. Newcastle now are looking to overhaul the squad this summer after a challenging season which will likely end without qualification for Europe. Part of that involves looking to sign a new striker, a search which has ramped up in recent weeks. Howe recently acknowledged the DR Congo forward had endured a “very difficult season” in his first year on Tyneside while voicing optimism that he could still contribute with the right preparation. “The most difficult part for Yoane is that he got back fit, there was a huge feeling inside of him that he wanted to rush back and show everybody how good he is, but we haven’t been able to train him in the way we normally would,” he told a news conference on Friday. “It was very stop-start and we didn’t see the best of him. We probably have in training this week. There’s so much more to come. I think a pre-season would really show the best of him. “He’s been trying, he’s been attempting to make the difference but the time he has had on the pitch. I think the best is yet to come.” Newcastle, 14th in the Premier League, are next in action at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday. Analysis by senior football writer George Caulkin The big idea behind Wissa’s signing was that he was the plug-and-play replacement for Isak; experienced, Premier League-ready, reliably fit and a regular source of goals. Nowhere near as accomplished, obviously, but not a player who would necessitate a major stylistic change. Nick Woltemade was the wild-card forward, a No 10 trapped in a No 9’s body, with a completely different profile. The theory went that while Woltemade was gradually integrated as he got up to speed with Howe’s requirements, Wissa would start the season as first-choice. ‘Big idea’ is probably stretching it, given the mood of panicked desperation which hung over Newcastle last summer, or the lowly place both Wissa and Woltemade filled on their original transfer long-list. But that was the plan and it was upended from the start. Wissa’s knee injury was hugely disruptive, throwing Howe onto the back foot as he faced the reality of losing Isak and what was always going to be a season of transition. Seven months later, nobody at the club would argue with the suggestion that their summer business was disastrous. Neither Wilson nor Hopkinson is uncomfortable with unpicking mistakes which were not theirs. It may cost the club a hefty chunk of money to write off errors, but better that than persevering with something which isn’t working. This is the thought process. There are no guarantees. Newcastle would have to find a willing buyer for Wissa and they also know that with uncertainty swirling over so many of their players, they cannot sell everybody. They still need proper quality in attack, but the striker market is not a straightforward one. There is still a chance that Wissa stays. His return to match sharpness has been achingly slow, but Howe has spoken about a general uptick in his recent training performances and he came on ahead of Woltemade during Newcastle’s 1-0 defeat at Arsenal, missing a late chance. The Wissa Newcastle thought they were buying — at an exorbitant, nonsensical cost — would still be an asset, certainly in a back-up role, but to date, he has been the opposite. He was supposed to be the anti-gamble. Keeping him now feels like the bigger risk. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms