Newcastle United have Yoane Wissa 'issue' ahead of Premier League clash vs Wolves - opinion
Newcastle United new signing Yoane Wissa will arrive back later than others from international duty.
Newcastle United return to Premier League action on Saturday against Wolverhampton Wanderers at St James’ Park. And for the first time this season, Eddie Howe has a striker dilemma.
The Alexander Isak saga, which ended in the Swede getting his wish of joining Liverpool, forced the Magpies to play their opening three games without an experienced frontman.
Anthony Gordon led the line on opening day at Aston Villa and continued against Liverpool, but his straight red card for a late challenge on Virgil van Dijk saw Will Osula drafted in for his first league start away to Leeds United.
With two goalless draws and a late 3-2 defeat to begin the campaign, a lot of Newcastle’s shortcomings have been put down to the absence of a proper centre forward.
But heading into this weekend’s game versus Wolves, Howe now has two to choose from, with both Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa eligible to make their debuts after arriving in the final few days of the summer transfer window.
Nick Woltemade or Yoane Wissa decision already made?
Will Howe thrust Woltemade, the club’s £69million record signing, straight into the starting XI? Or will Wissa’s Premier League experience see him get the nod? Perhaps the international schedule will impact the Newcastle boss’ thinking.
Woltemade finished up with Germany on Sunday night as they recovered from their shock defeat to Slovakia to beat Northern Ireland 3-1.
Wissa, meanwhile, is still in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and won’t return to England until Thursday morning at the earliest with their World Cup qualifier against Senegal not kicking off until 5pm on Tuesday evening.
The flight time from DR Congo to England is said to be around 14 hours, indicating that he is unlikely to return until late-morning to mid-afternoon on Wednesday. That is around about the same time Howe’s squad typically train.
Wissa may only get Thursday and Friday to train with his new teammates, whereas Woltemade will have the benefit of two extra training sessions.
What Eddie Howe has done with new signings in the past
But on the flip side of that, Howe has historically resisted temptation to throw his new signings straight into the starting line-up, particularly those that are new to the division.
Speaking after the goalless draw at Leeds, Howe was keen to stress that Woltemade would need time to adapt to the Premier League. On Wissa, Howe described the 29-year-old as “proven Premier League quality” and someone who “immediately makes us stronger”.
Wissa or Woltemade? What this writer thinks Eddie Howe should do
It’s still an easy choice for me - I’d start Wissa. There are mitigating circumstances to why Newcastle are winless after three games but that has to end against Wolves, who have failed to pick up any points at all so far.
The Magpies need to hit the ground running ahead of a busy period and Wissa is capable of that. Woltemade might be too, but an immediate impact is a must and Wissa, as Howe mentioned, is Premier League proven.