Newcastle United striker Yoane Wissa has acknowledged that he returned too soon from a knee injury, contributing to his underwhelming first season at the club. Despite scoring only three goals since joining, the 29-year-old remains committed to improving. He vows to fight on as a 'soldier' for the Magpies.
Yoane Wissa joined Newcastle United in a £55 million deadline-day transfer from Brentford in September, following the club's record £69 million signing of Nick Woltemade. This came after Alexander Isak's £125 million departure to Liverpool. A knee injury sustained on international duty with DR Congo delayed Wissa's debut until a 2-1 win over Burnley in December. He scored 17 goals for Brentford the previous season but has managed just three for Newcastle: one in an EFL Cup quarter-final against Fulham on December 17, another against Burnley 13 days later, and a third in a Champions League win over PSV Eindhoven in January. No goals have followed since then, and manager Eddie Howe has favored Anthony Gordon and Will Osula ahead of him and Woltemade in recent matches. Last week, Woltemade set up Wissa for a close-range volley in a 1-0 Premier League loss at Arsenal, but he fired over with only goalkeeper David Raya to beat. Newcastle sit 14th in the Premier League, eight points above relegation with four games remaining. Talk of a summer sale persists amid a squad rebuild. In an interview with JoelBeyaTV, Wissa said: “I didn’t wait for the proper time to come back [from injury]. It should have definitely been more. You just want to catch the train, but that was impossible, because my knee wasn’t right. I am a soldier. I will keep going. I want the fans to know the love I have for this shirt. Looking forward to next season, I understand how big this club is, I hope I’m going to do better. It’s such a privilege. I just want to wear the shirt.” Wissa hopes to feature when Newcastle host Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.
