'It's a big difference': Kevin Nolan is not convinced by Newcastle United's interest in Yoane Wissa
Newcastle United appear to be pressing ahead with a move to try and bring in Yoane Wissa from Brentford.
Eddie Howe is desperate for another centre-forward to help ease the burden on Alexander Isak. Although if you take any notice of the mainstream media, you'd think that he was trying to find a replacement for Isak, which is simply not the case.
Newcastle have tried to bring in exciting, young talent to support Isak with a view to becoming a replacement for the Sweden star at some point down the line, but after several knock-backs, the Magpies have pivoted to an entirely different strategy.
Now Howe is looking at a low-cost option with Premier League experience, but way older than the original profile he was looking at, and Yoane Wissa seems to be the priority.
Kevin Nolan is not convinced Yoane Wissa is the right man for Newcastle
Yoane Wissa is expected to set the Magpies back around £40 million, but in true Newcastle style, they are going in well below that valuation with their bids. Newcastle are playing a dangerous game with Tottenham and Nottingham Forest both keen on Wissa too. However, former Magpie Kevin Nolan wouldn't be too disappointed if Newcastle missed out, it seems, as he told TalkSPORT he doesn't see Wissa as being up to the Newcastle standard.
“Newcastle fans will be saying we want to keep him and we want to pay him the money.
“They’ve got the owners, the backers. Are you going to find another Isak? They’re talking about Wissa, but I’m not too sure that he probably gets the goals and becomes that number nine.
“It’s different. There’s no disrespect to Brentford here, but it’s different playing at Newcastle and being the number nine for Newcastle than it is at Brentford. There’s an expectation there.
“I don’t want to have a go at Brentford and have the Brentford fans going at me, but it is a big difference.”
Kevin Nolan's fears entirely miss the point
Fortunately for Newcastle, as we mentioned earlier, Yoane Wissa isn't coming in to replace Alexander Isak but to support him, so Nolan's fears aren't really justified.
Wissa just has to be available when Isak isn't, or he can play alongside him when required, but even if Wissa is signed and handed the number 9 shirt, he won't be the first-choice striker, so he can still be an important signing for Eddie Howe.
If Newcastle were actually thinking of selling Isak, we'd be looking at a much bigger and indeed younger player, knowing that we had over £100 million plus coming in.
