'He's got to perform': Eddie Howe lays down gauntlet to Yoane Wissa as striker continues to watch on from bench
Yoane Wissa took a couple of pages out of the Alexander Isak book of dirty tricks to secure his £55 million move from Brentford to Newcastle United in the summer.
After enduring the behaviour of Isak during the summer as the striker tried everything in his power to force through a move to Liverpool, it felt a little bit off when Yoane Wissa did something similar to get his move to Newcastle.
Indeed, it wasn't hard to feel like karma had come to bite us when Wissa picked up a bad knee injury on international duty just days after signing on the dotted line for the Magpies.
That injury set Wissa back massively. He missed a huge chunk of the season, and his recovery has been slow due to a lack of time on the training pitch. So when Wissa has played, he hasn't necessarily looked like the right fit.
Eddie Howe lays down the gauntlet to Yoane Wissa
It's not necessarily Wissa's fault; it's just the way the chips fell for the 29-year-old, but he's recently had to watch on from the bench as Will Osula has leapfrogged him and Nick Woltemade in the pecking order.
Eddie Howe spoke about the DR Congo striker on Friday morning in his press conference, and was quite blunt when it came to what Wissa needs to do.
"Yoane is fit, fitter probably than at any stage in his time with us. He's done a lot of work behind the scenes.
“He's making up for lost time in that respect and training with the group whenever we train.
"No injury concerns at all. The challenge for Yoane is when introduced and on the pitch, he's got to perform.
“And that'll be the same for every player. in the squad, and then I have to pick who I think is best for the job."
Next season will be massive for Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade
The fact that Wissa and Woltemade, £124 million worth of talent, are being relegated to watching from the sidelines as £15 million headless chicken, Will Osula, plays in their position is something that has left a lot of people scratching their heads.
For us, it's about what the players do when called upon, and the reality is, Osula has hit the target more than Wissa and Woltemade of late. He's made more of an effort to play the way the team does, and while he may still be raw, you can see the endeavour.
Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa just look lost when they're out on the pitch. They're not getting into the right areas, they're not making the right runs. Yes, Wissa may not yet be applying the finishing touch, but he's creating openings, and that's more than the other two are right now.
Again, this is all something that will be fixed during pre-season, and we expect that both strikers will be far better for Newcastle in the 2026/27 campaign, but that's not going to help us right now.
