Eddie Howe dodges big question on Yoane Wissa following Alan Shearer's comments
Alan Shearer recently made a claim that Yoane Wissa should show Newcastle United a bit of loyalty and turn his back on the African Cup of Nations competition.
Yoane Wissa was injured while playing for the Democratic Republic of Congo just days after signing for Newcastle United and is still weeks away from making his debut for his new club.
Eddie Howe confirmed this morning during his pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow's clash with Brighton that Wissa has trained on the grass for the first time since he signed, but he's not expected to actually play until November.
It's questionable whether Wissa should have been playing for DR Congo when he did, given how much training he'd missed over the summer after opting to down tools to force through his move from Brentford.
Eddie Howe wouldn't be drawn on what Yoane Wissa should do regarding AFCON
It seemed almost inevitable that he'd pick up an injury given his lack of training, and as such, Alan Shearer claimed that he should focus on performing for Newcastle rather than thinking about international duty.
When asked for his view on Shearer's words this morning, Eddie Howe skilfully dodged the question, feeling that it's not fair on Wissa to have that conversation in a public forum.
“That’s a conversation and topic that I’m not going to get involved in. That’s not fair to Yoane. I haven’t seen Alan’s comments, but that’s one I’ll stay away from.”
Should Yoane Wissa stay at Newcastle during the AFCON?
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Yes. He owes us.75%
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No. It's his right to represent his country at a major tournament25%
We'll say it for you, Eddie ...
You can read between the lines and think that Howe probably agrees with Shearer from a selfish point of view, and we're sure many Newcastle fans will feel the same.
However, there's a lot of pride that comes with playing for one's country, and to deny a player that opportunity isn't a good look.
We'd certainly prefer to see some return on our huge investment from Wissa this season, and skipping AFCON would go a long way to paying back some of that gargantuan fee.
