Newcastle United now face competition for Yoane Wissa from PIF-owned club.
Newcastle United now face the prospect of being beaten to the signing of Brentford striker Yoane Wissa.
The DR Congo forward has downed tools at Brentford in order to force a move away from the club, with Newcastle being the most likely destination.
However, as this is Newcastle United in Summer 2025, there is now a twist which puts the Magpies' move at risk.
Newcastle refuse to pay what Brentford are demanding for the 28-year-old, and while there's still a bit of negotiating to be done, the club had been confident that an agreement would be reached.
Newcastle losing out on a signing to another PIF-owned club would be the cherry on top of this summer
However, French outlet L'Equipe are now reporting that PIF-owned Al-Nassr are ready to pay Brentford their asking price for Wissa, which would leave Newcastle in an awkward spot.
It's widely believed that Wissa wants the move to Newcastle, particularly because they have Champions League football next season, but if the Magpies get outbid by Al-Nassr and refuse to match it, Wissa's only option could be to move to Saudi Arabia.
It would just be extremely typical of this summer if a club, owned by our very same backers, beat us to a transfer that looked all but done.
The 'all is lost' moment
We still feel that, as far as the player is concerned, we are his preferred destination, but if Brentford accept a higher bid than what Newcastle were prepared to pay, that could really change the game.
Again, though, this report is coming from France and not from the UK or Saudi Arabia, which is where you'd expect a story involving clubs from those countries to break.
If this one does fall apart at the hands of our owners, where do we even go from here?
