‘It’s a beauty!’ – Wissa’s goal against Newcastle last season
Ciaran Kelly
Newcastle United reporter
Newcastle have already broken their transfer record to sign Woltemade.
But the club desperately need another forward to help ease the burden on the new arrival, who has never played outside of Germany.
It has, therefore, been far from a coincidence that Newcastle have gone back in for a proven Premier League player like Wissa.
In truth, Newcastle never truly went away.
Rather than giving up, after having two previous bids rejected, Newcastle returned to the table in the final throes of the window.
It represents a shift in transfer policy.
Newcastle have not recruited an outfielder aged 26 or older in more than three years, but it is rather telling that an exception looks set to be made for Wissa, who turns 29 on Wednesday.
Yet Wissa is a late bloomer rather than someone entering the twilight of his career.
For context, Wissa was playing in the French second division in 2020, but his year-on-year development has been such he went on to score more non-penalty goals (19) than any other player in the Premier League last season.
Wissa’s instincts in the box as well as his fitness record and ability to plug in make him an attractive proposition for Newcastle, who only had one player hit double figures last season.
That man was, of course, Isak, who is set to complete a British record move to Liverpool.
Now, if an agreement is struck with Brentford, it could fall to Wissa to help fill the void left by the Swede.
