Eddie Howe confirmed on Friday morning what many people expected: that Alexander Isak was going to be absent for the big game against Liverpool on Monday night.
With the striker still angling for a move to Merseyside, Howe made the big call to drop last season’s top scorer instead of forcing him to play as contracted.
The search for an alternative to Isak continues on Tyneside, as Yoane Wissa and Jørgen Strand Larsen remain on our radar over possible moves this summer.
And there was fresh speculation that our strong interest in both players could have influenced whether or not either man would be left out on Saturday afternoon, and for Wissa, that has now been confirmed…
When Brentford host Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon, they will again be in the Premier League without Yoane Wissa, as manager Keith Andrews confirmed he was unavailable for selection.
Addressing Wissa’s absence, Andrews commented “It’s not right to involve him in the squad. The team is the focus and I felt that was the right thing to do.”
According to The Mail’s Craig Hope, the 28-year-old is still pushing for a move to the North East and hoping to seal a move to St James’ Park in the ‘coming days.’
Similar to Isak, Wissa has previously proclaimed that he would refuse to return to Brentford if the transfer wasn’t finalised. He was back in sessions this week, but it’s perhaps quite telling that he’s not involved today.
We saw a £40m total bid for the Congolese forward rejected by Brentford earlier this week, as they push for closer to £60m – an extortionate amount that we don’t certainly don’t value Wissa at, and does come across as deliberate price gauging knowing we have funds to spend on a forward.
As we enter the final week of the window however, we can expect to see some big developments in the saga: hopefully we see a reduction in fee and a general compromise between all parties that sees Wissa finally make the move in time for the trip to Elland Road.
Unlike Wissa however, our other prominent striker target at the moment continues to train and play for his club, as Strand Larsen starts for Wolves in their Saturday afternoon clash away at Bournemouth.
Having only made his loan move permanent earlier this window, Vitor Pereira and his side are keen to keep Strand Larsen at Molineux.
Though it’s understood that as we’ve lodged interest in Strand Larsen, the Norwegian does see the appeal of playing Champions League football next season. At the current moment in time, he could sign and have the no.9 position almost to himself into Isak is properly reintegrated.
Perhaps the worst case scenario for Newcastle this weekend are thumping losses for Brentford and Wolves, which would only further justify both sides’ intent on keeping their key players this summer.
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