'Nothing but positive things': Brentford chief speaks out after Yoane Wissa's controversial move to Newcastle United
Newcastle United completed a deadline-day transfer of Yoane Wissa from Brentford for £55 million after a controversial pursuit.
Yoane Wissa used the player power moves to get his move to Tyneside, similar to the saga that clouded Newcastle's summer with Alexander Isak.
While we can't sit here and condone his behaviour while condemning that of Isak, there were several differences that make Wissa's actions less toxic than Isak's, but we'd rather they didn't happen at all.
One of the key differences is that Wissa still showed respect to Brentford and actually held talks with the bosses during the standoff. He made the effort to acknowledge Brentford and the fans in his first interview with Newcastle, too. As a result, the feelings from his old club and the respect remain largely intact.
Brentford's Newcastle United-supporting sporting director has spoken about Yoane Wissa's move
Newcastle released a very short, dry statement announcing Isak's departure, and it's likely that's the last we'll hear of him other than when Howe gets grilled at his next press conference. In contrast, Brentford's sporting director Phil Giles has already addressed Wissa's departure in an interview with The Standard and spoke highly of the forward, who turns 29 today.
“The big story is selling Yoane Wissa.
“He was a fantastic player for us, started off playing wide and evolved to take on the number nine position and had a brilliant season last year.
“He was a really good, infectious character who was positive around the players and the fans. I personally liked him a lot as well, so there’s nothing but positive things to say about his performances on the pitch for us.
“Transfers are always complicated. There’s always a little bit of emotion, friction and dialogue. That normally stays in house but obviously this one spilled out. It’s not the only one this summer that has spilled out a little bit more into the public domain which is, from my point of view, not ideal.
“Nevertheless, it happened and we had to manage that. For me, fundamentally, when you have to make a decision about transfers, and complicated decisions – decisions which are impactful on the pitch and also off the pitch in terms of the club’s whole overall position -you need to stay focused on what is the right decision for the club, not whether it’s in public or not in public.
“You have got to take the emotions out of it and got to ultimately make the decisions for the club. Every decision I make or we make collectively during a transfer window will strip all of the emotion out of it and focus purely on what is the right decision in this moment in time for the club overall.”
Wissa needs to prove that we made the right call bringing him to the club after his standoff with Brentford
Wissa will no doubt be aware of the comparisons between how he and Isak forced their deadline day moves, and that he will have to prove his worth to a large chunk of Newcastle fans.
That's not to say that fans aren't excited to see what Wissa can do in the black and white shirt, especially given that he's sporting that famous number 9.
We hate that an international break follows the transfer deadline. We want to see our new players in action!
