Yoane Wissa surprise revealed as Eddie Howe hails £55m striker

Tuesday night marked just the second start of Yoane Wissa’s Newcastle career following his £55m move from Brentford on deadline day.

He's taken time to get fit from a knee issue, but just like his maiden start against Spurs in the Carabao Cup, the DR Congo star grabbed a much-needed early goal in last night's 3-1 win at Burnley.

Howe was full of praise for the 29-year-old in his post-match press conference, not only praising his poachers instincts and classic No 9 play, but his physical output and surprisingly impressive qualities in the air.

“Yoane is your traditional number nine. He wants to run in behind and he’s got a very good sense of scoring goals, he’s in the right place at the right time.

"That was highlighted by his goal tonight – it might look like a simple goal, but he has to do all the right things to get into that position.

“There were other chances for him to score – I thought it was trademark number nine centre-forward play. I thought he worked really hard and he led the line superbly. I

"t’s actually a very good physical outlook he gives for us as well, he was very good in the air. That was great to see.”

Wissa isn't ready to start games consistently just yet, but what Howe does have is a consistent Premier League goal-getter, as his record shows.

He's bagged two in two starts for Newcastle, netted 20 in all competitions for Brentford last season and 12 in the previous campaign; impressive numbers when you consider he's never been on penalties.

With Nick Woltemade still adjusting to this team and showing signs of fatigue over a grueling December, Wissa's return has come at an important time as we head into a busy January featuring NINE games across four different competitions.