Yoane Wissa scout report – Strengths, weaknesses & hidden stats as No.9 signs
The transfer window has closed. Thank goodness for that.
The club made their sixth first team signing on deadline day, as Yoane Wissa finally made his move from Brentford.
Like a certain former player of ours, the striker was in the middle of a saga that played out for a number of weeks. It involved Instagram drama and not for sale stances, but he was allowed to join Eddie Howe’s side on the final day.
The fee is reported to be an initial £50m, with add-ons that could take the deal to £55 million. Wissa is just about to turn 29, which makes the fee a steep one. That said, we desperately needed another striker in the squad. Ultimately, getting a player with quality became more important than getting a good fee.
Profile
This is a signing that isn’t typical of the club since the takeover. We have rarely chosen to sign players older than 26, due to the lack of resale value that they have. Wissa turns 29 before we play Wolves. That shouldn’t be seen as a negative though, as he has an impressive scoring record in senior football. Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier show the value that exists in older players. Howe will hope that his new striker can follow in their footsteps.
Wissa was a product of the excellent recruitment system at Brentford. He was plucked from the lower end of Ligue 1 after he had a productive spell with Lorient. During his time with the French side, he scored 37 times in 128 matches across seasons in the top two divisions. It wasn’t a record that suggested he was heading to the top of the sport.
Under Matthew Benham, Brentford have built an excellent talent identification system and they viewed Wissa as a player with potential. They signed him in 2021 for a fee reported to be £8.5 million. Initially, he was in and out of the team, but he continued to chip in with key goals. During the last two seasons, his output exploded, with 31 goals across these campaigns. He was ultimately the one to replace Ivan Toney last season and a return of 19 goals showed why.
Strengths
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ahk92Nk8g
The biggest weapon in Yoane Wissa’s arsenal is his goalscoring. Last season, he finished 6th in the Premier League goal-scoring charts. Interestingly, he had no penalties involved in his total. When you remove penalties from Alexander Isak, he would also have had the same number of goals as Wissa – 19.
Wissa’s movement in the final third is superb. He has good pace, which allows him to get in behind and through on goal. However, he has more strings to his bow, as his movement in the box often leads to him gaining a yard. This is reflected by his non-penalty expected goals of 18.5. Only Erling Haaland had a higher total – 18.8.
Per ninety minutes, Wissa averaged 0.57 expected goals. This was higher than Alexander Isak (0.56), Nicolas Jackson (0.5) and Mohamed Salah (0.49). It is easy to see why Newcastle pursued him for as long as they did, as he is elite at being in the right place at the right time.
When he does manage to run through on goal, he is brilliant at shifting the ball inside on his stronger right-foot and finishing with calmness. There have been several goals he has scored by shifting the ball into space and whipping it into the bottom right corner. Wissa is a good finisher on both feet.
Last season, he regularly managed to have headed attempts from set pieces, despite being shorter than many defenders. This will be an interesting weapon for Marius Mark to use and underlines Wissa’s intelligence in the final third.
One of the lesser spoken about qualities of Wissa’s is his ability to lead the press. He works hard without the ball and makes defensive contributions across the pitch. This makes him well suited to Howe’s Newcastle.
Further to his work rate and quality in the final third, Wissa is versatile. The striker is capable of playing on either flank. That versatility will be valuable for Howe.
Weaknesses
Although Wissa has proven himself to be effective with his head in the opposition penalty area, he isn’t the best in the air. He is unlikely to operate as a target man and win long balls played forward by the goalkeeper or defence. In matches where Wissa is leading the line, Howe may need to utilise Joelinton when playing long.
There was a good relationship built by Wissa at Brentford with Bryan Mbuemo. The pair knew each other inside out and that led to a good connection on the pitch. That being said, Wissa isn’t the most creative of number nines. He averages 1.99 shot creating actions per ninety minutes, placing him in the 36th percentile among forwards.
The major negative being spoken about online regarding Wissa is his lack of resale value. He is about to turn 29 and it feels like Newcastle will have to accept a loss on him. In a PSR world, it is a deal that doesn’t make financial sense.
The argument against this is that Wissa will score goals and last season, he was one of the most threatening forwards in the Premier League. If he scores regularly over the next two seasons, there will be interest to buy him at a reduced rate and Newcastle can still limit the loss made on him.
Verdict
In basic terms, this is the perfect addition to the squad for what we need. Wissa is a proven goal-scorer at the peak of his powers. Last season, his stats were up there with the very best attackers in this league, including a certain Swede.
However, there will be criticism of this deal due to the fee. It is a massive fee for a player of his age. In a PSR age, it is important for players to have resale value, even if you don’t intend to sell them on.
That is an imperfect approach though. You can’t cut off a huge section of the market due to age. It would be bad to sign lots of players at Wissa’s age profile, but one or two signings can add lots of value to the squad.
This summer was focused on signing two strikers. In the end, it looks like they have signed two that complement each other very well. Nick Woltemade is the young striker with huge potential, who likes to drop into deeper positions and act as a creator. Wissa is the proven goal-scorer, who likes to play on the last line of defence.
It is easy to see how they can line up together and that can only benefit Howe.
