What Is Going On With Wissa?

Our pursuit of Yoane Wissa in the summer was relentless with Brentford steadfastly holding out for the £55M fee they demanded before agreeing to a sale.

Wissa and Eddie Howe were desperate for the move to happen. And, finally, it did.

This why Eddie Howe wanted Yoane Wissa

A huge disappointment

With Alexander Isak heading to Anfield for a record fee, Wissa was expected to be the versatile, high-energy forward that would keep the Magpies' frontline on track.

After scoring 19 goals for Brentford Wissa was seen as a PL proven ST who, whilst not expected to have Isak's all round skills, would go a long way to replacing his goal tally.

That expectation was put on hold before he kicked a ball for NUFC when he was injured playing for DR Congo. With Woltemade stepping in and hitting the goal trail from the off most fans couldn't wait for Wissa to join the fray and add even more goal threat.

Our crowded fixture list meant there would be plenty of opportunities on his return to fitness for Wissa to show Eddie Howe and us fans what we had been missing.

Unfortunately, what has been missing is form and goals.

The Stats: A Concerning Lack of Impact

The numbers make for grim reading for a player who cost £55M.

With Woltemade's form and goals starting to dry up Wissa's return should have provided the spark needed to keep the forward line on track.

It has done anything but as these worrying stats show;

• Goals: 1 (Premier League)

• Shots on Target: 22% Accuracy

• Average Touches per 90: 14.2 (The lowest among all Newcastle attackers)

• Big Chances Missed: 4

Tactical Friction: A Square Peg in a Round Hole?

At Brentford, Wissa thrived in a system built on quick transitions and low-block counter-attacking. He also formed a devastating partnership with Bryan Mbuemo.

Wissa wasn't a focal point 9 at Brentford, yet he’s often been asked to lead the line when Woltemade is rested. He is not cut out for Eddie Howe's more rigid 4-3-3 system .

Unlike Isak, or Gordon when he plays ST, Wissa isn't the type of player to create his own chances - he is a finisher of chances created by others.

In our 4-3-3 system Yoane often looks like a passenger.

His inability to stay involved in the build-up play has left him isolated with an average of just 14 touches per game. In some of his substitute appearances he has been almost anonymous.

What does the future hold?

Eyebrows were raised at a £55M fee for a 29 year old ST with one stand out season.

Add in likely wages of £100K+ and that was a total cost that many fans thought was over the top and not good business for the club.

Given his age, had we got three good goal scoring seasons out of Wissa that fee might have looked decent value - but we've effectively lost one of those seasons already.

Whilst Woltemade has faded since his early good start, he has shown enough potential to give fans some confidence that Eddie can work his magic in pre-season training.

I'm not so sure the same confidence surrounds Yoane Wissa.

It's perhaps unfair to use the analogy of 'you can't teach old dogs new tricks' but the magic wand that Eddie has to wave to integrate Wissa into our tactical system might be too big even for our magician of a manager.

But, unless Eddie can somehow pull a rabbit out of a hat, the £55M spent on Wissa could go down as one of our worst, if not the worst, signings in recent times.

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