“Player has made it clear he wants Newcastle” - £35m deal moves closer

After the fortnight Newcastle United have had, it’s about time the club was dealt some good luck.

What’s been a disastrous summer transfer window hit a new low on Thursday as Alexander Isak told the club’s higher-ups that he wished to leave.

It’s left the Magpies scrambling to not only do all they can to convince Isak to stay on Tyneside, but also work on a backup plan and bring in a top striker to potentially cover as our main goalscoring threat should Isak really go this window.

Thankfully, it looks like we’re really one step closer to signing said striker…

Newcastle handed big boost in bid for Brentford star

According to Sky Sports’ Keith Downie, Yoane Wissa is said to have prioritised a move to Newcastle United ahead of anyone else this summer.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Downie commented that we are currently in negotiation with Brentford over a £35m package for the 28-year-old.

“I’m told that’s progressing well. There’s hope and expectation that’ll get done.

”They are in talks now in talks over a deal for about £35m.

”The player has made it clear he wants to move to Newcastle. He’s not interested in Spurs or Nottingham Forest. It’s Newcastle he wants.”

Personal terms look to have never been an issue, it’s now down to the fee, with hope a positive outcome could arrive soon in what could be the first of two striker arrivals should Isak leave.

We can expect a ‘conclusion’ to the transfer saga very soon, potentially over the weekend, and one would hope that Wissa could sign in time to link up with his future teammates on our ongoing tour of Asia.

Is Wissa enough for the time being?

Make no mistakes about it, signing Yoane Wissa is a significant upgrade on what both Callum Wilson and Will Osula offered to us as back up options last season.

However, with the chances of Alexander Isak staying this summer currently at the lowest they’ve ever been, can we rely upon on Wissa to so easily assume the mantle of being our starting striker next season?

There’s just over three weeks until our season opener against Aston Villa, and should he definitely sign, one would fancy Wissa to start considering he has Premier League-proven goal experience and won’t need time to properly settle in, particularly compared to a player like Benjamin Sesko or Lois Openda.

Where Wissa sits in our attacking hierarchy will be a lot clearer in the coming days however, particularly if Isak by some miracle reneges on his interest in a move, and chooses to honour the three years left on his current deal.