What can a fully fit Wissa bring to the Toon attack?
In his comments before the West Ham game, Eddie Howe cautioned that Yoane Wissa was “not close” to returning to the starting XI, but that he’s “back on the grass” as he steps up his return from a knee injury sustained on international duty for the DR Congo in September.
While our Giant German, Nick Woltemade, has been nothing short of a sensation since his big money move from the Bundesliga, Eddie Howe had long prioritised a proven Premier League striker as a replacement for the now departed Alexander Isak. Not only that, but he also sought someone who could replicate Isak’s front-footed pressing abilities with lethal penalty box finishing.
While injury has kept him from showing the Toon Army why Howe was so determined to drop £55m for the former Brentford striker, the news that he may be soon start featuring in the Newcastle United matchday squads will have many fans wondering exactly what he can bring to the side.
In this article, we aim to offer a tactical blueprint and visual breakdown of what makes Yoane Wissa an excellent addition to the Newcastle United squad, and why Toon fans should be excited to see him line out in the black and white stripes in the not-too-distant future.
Where he has been and what does he offer
Yoane Wissa is an energetic, versatile forward capable of playing across the front three, as well as being able to play both alone in the middle or as part of a front two. Following the departure of Ivan Toney to Saudi Arabia, Wissa formed a formidable partnership with Bryan Mbuemo in the 24/25 Premier League season where he scored an impressive 19 league goals and 5 assists as Brentford finished comfortably midtable.
Behind the headline figures lay some impressive underlying stats. His 0.60 non-penalty goals place him among the elite forwards across Europe. His relatively average number of 5 touches in the opposition penalty area per 90 minutes, reasonable number of 2.77 shots per 90 minutes, coupled with an elite goals per shot ratio, highlights that he is a ruthlessly efficient penalty box finisher.
Interaction patterns
When assessing whether a striker is a flash in a pan, performing well in a high-performing team, or just on a purple patch, it’s important not to just look at the stats but to marry that up with the eye test to see just what types of goals they are scoring and whether they are replicable.
We all remember the purple patch Miguel Almiron went on a few seasons ago when everything he hit seemed to find the back of the net, regardless of where on the field he struck it from. The problem with this is that it is simply not sustainable to expect forwards to score a world class finish week in, week out. And, as expected, wor Miggy reverted to type and failed to hit a barndoor with a banjo the following season before losing his place to Jacob Murphy and eventually being sold to the MLS where he has scored the grand sum of 6 goals in 33 appearances.
So, is there a risk that Wissa was similarly a flash in the pan for Brentford last season? The short answer: no. The somewhat longer answer is that when you look at the types of goals Wissa scored for Brentford last season, you can readily see how he will be able to replicate those at Newcastle United.
Of Wissa’s 19 Premier League goals last season, 17 can be categorised as the following: through ball met by an off-the-shoulder run, balls from wide finding striker in the box, and poacher goals i.e., being in the right place at the right time. One of his goals was a header from a set piece, with the other one being a worldie finish…against us!
Let’s look at each of the three categories of goals more closely.
Through ball met by an off-the-shoulder run
There are several examples from last season of Wissa timing a run off the shoulder of the last defender to perfection before being played in behind from midfield before cooly slotting it home, but Brentford’s 3-2 home win against Bournemouth provides the best example of this type of goal.
Vitaly Janelt is given the ball with space to play with in the midfield, but rather than take a touch, he almost immediately releases a beautifully weighted through ball into the path of Yoane Wissa, who has found a narrow pocket of space in between centre half Illia Zabarnyi and full-back Milos Kerkez.
When Wissa picks the ball up just on the edge of the box, he still has a lot of work to do to score, as he has Zabarnyi almost touch tight breathing down his neck, as well as Kepa Arrizabelga rushing to close him down. None of that matters though as he keeps his composure before lifting the ball calmly over the onrushing Kepa, to give Brentford a 3-2 lead that they’d hold onto to win the match.
Balls from wide finding Wissa in the box
Another type of finish that Wissa made a habit of was being a constant option for his wide men in the penalty area. It may sound like a no-brainer, but the ability to shake off your centre half in order to ensure you are an option for the cross is a crucial component of being a ruthless striker, and Wissa is an ever-present option for these types of goals.
In Brentford’s 4-1 home win against Leicester City last season, Kevin Schade finds himself in behind the Leicester City back line on the left. Wissa holds his run behind the ball, knowing precisely when Schade is going to release him. Schade plays a simple pass into the middle of the area which Wissa cooly dispatches to the bottom corner.
Poacher’s finish
By far, the type of goal favoured by Wissa last season were those scrappy finishes that just needed someone, anyone, on the end of it. These ranged from ricochets off the defender that he bundled home, a rebound from the keeper, or the ball fortuitously finding its way to his feet needing Wissa to be on on his toes to finish it off. In a sense, these were goals where there was a little bit of chaos that needed to be taken advantage of, and Wissa was on hand to do just that.
However, these chaotic scenarios don’t happen by chance in Brentford’s games; they create them. Wissa’s goal against Everton in their 1-1 home draw illustrates this perfectly.
A long throw into the box is not at all handled well by the Everton defenders who allow the ball to bounce in the box.
Bryan Mbuemo takes advantage of the bouncing ball, thundering a header towards goal which cannons off the crossbar, popping up invitingly.
The ball has barely come back off the crossbar before Wissa responds, and he is the quickest to react as he ghosts in front of three Everton defenders, all of whom are still ball-watching as Wissa leaps to head home and give Brentford the lead.
As a striker, of course goals are important, but in today’s modern game, it is almost as important for the central focus of the attack to be contributing in more ways than just simply scoring goals – unless that centre forward is a certain raw milk drinking, Norwegian robot named Erling Haaland, of course.
In that sense, Wissa is very much a modern forward contributing across the various phases of play, even if that requires a selflessness that hinders his own ability to score. Bryan Mbuemo’s goal in their opening day win over Crystal Palace highlights the various aspects of Wissa’s selfless and intelligent team play.
Below, we see Christian Norgaard picking the ball up in a seemingly innocuous position as Brentford get ready to spring an attacking transition. Norgaard picks the ball up facing his own goal, but before he even has the ball under control, Wissa is already on his bike, making a forward run, as he knows precisely what Norgaard is going to do, and where he’s going to release the ball.
When the ball is played into his path, Wissa doesn’t waste any time even taking a touch, as the ball from Norgaard is perfectly weighted for Wissa to play a first time ball to Mbuemo on the right, building the threat of this transition by breaking rapidly, moving the ball at pace, which in turn doesn’t afford Palace the time they need to get reorganised.
Wissa then demonstrates one of the traits we have already noticed earlier, in that he takes up an excellent central position, offering Mbuemo an option to find him in the box for what would likely be an relatively easy finish for Wissa. Mbuemo, however, doesn’t take the opportunity to pick out Wissa in a central position, though he arguably should have done, and instead opts to take on his full-back.
By this point, Wissa knows that Mbuemo isn’t going to give him the ball, so he uses his intelligence to make a sacrificial run towards the byline, which drags the central Palace defender away creating some space for Mbuemo to cut inside and score on his favoured left foot, a pattern he repeated time and time again throughout last season.
What that means for Newcastle United
In simple terms, it means that Newcastle United now have within their ranks, a striker who can score not only a wide variety of goals but also a large volume of highly replicable ones once a firm understanding is established with his teammates.
For example, in Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle United have a midfielder who ranks in the top 10% of midfielders for through balls completed per 90 minutes, and in the top 5% of midfielders for passes into the penalty area. Wissa was fed continuously at Brentford by the likes of Vitaly Janelt and Mikkel Damsgaard. Both fine footballers, but in Guimaraes, he would be serviced by a more technically proficient midfielder. If Wissa and Guimaraes can develop the same kind of telepathic understanding that Wissa developed with his former Brentford teammates, this should increase the volume of chances Wissa has to work with, resulting in an even higher number of goals.
There is also the possibility of seeing both Wissa and Woltemade play together, with Woltemade playing as a more withdrawn second striker, or even as more of an attacking midfielder, linking the play and providing service to Wissa. This is a particularly attractive proposition, for despite being, nominally, a centre-forward, Woltemade ranks highly in key passes, passes into the final third and passes into the penalty area. While we may not see both Wissa and Woltemade start too many games together, at least not this season, this would be a very interesting in-game tactical adjustment that Eddie Howe could make in games where we’re struggling to break teams down, the catastrophic defeat to West Ham at the weekend being a prime example of a game such as this.
With Wissa being so proficient in botj finding space in the box, and getting on the end of crosses from wide areas to devastating effect, it also provides a great opportunity for our wide men, such as Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy and Anthony Elanga, to have a focal point to work towards. While Woltemade has made a wonderful start to his Newcastle United career, showing many of the potent decision making and finishing in the box that all elite strikers show, Wissa provides much more verticality, stretching defences, giving our wide men room to gallop, and giving them an option in the box if they can pick him out.
Also, like Brentford, Newcastle United is a high tempo pressing side who like to create chaos and take advantage of unsettled defences via rapid transitions. In that sense, Wissa should feel at home in an Eddie Howe environment and will likely feel as though this Newcastle United side are a graduation of sorts, doing much of what Brentford did well last season, only better.
Finally, the above example of the way in which Wissa supports the different phases of attack in transition is a classic example of the kinds of fast-break attacking transitions we can expect to see at Newcastle United. Whether that is Wissa either taking up centrally threatening positions for his wingers to find him for a goal-scoring opportunity, or making an intelligent run in the box to drag defenders away creating space for Gordon, Barnes, Murphy or Elanga to cut inside and get a shot off, Wissa will play a vital role in attacking build-up play, and possibly helping unlock the goal-scoring prowess of our wingers and inside forwards.
Worth the wait?
While it has been incredibly frustrating to have waited almost the entire summer for Wissa’s arrival, only to almost immediately lose him to an injury that has kept him out for months, it does look as though he may be nearing a return to full fitness just as Newcastle United enter a crucial stretch of the season. Following the upcoming November international break, our schedule is relentless with three games per week the norm until after the Christmas break.
There remains the very likely possibility that we will lose Wissa again to the African Cup of Nations, which would see him possibly miss the Wear-Tyne derby on 14th December, not being available until Newcastle United host Palace on 3rd January, at the earliest. Should DR Congo go all the way to the final, he may not be available again until Aston Villa come to St James’ Park on 24th January. Spending £55m on a player who will not be consistently available to February is, quite simply, a poor investment.
There is, however, a lot of football left to be played this season. With Newcastle United competing on multiple fronts, and a growing need to rest and rotate Woltemade, this season, as evidenced by his half-time subbing against West Ham. As such, having Yoane Wissa as an option in the run up of games immediately following the November international may be decisive for our long-term ambitions this season. He also happens to be a very, very good striker who will add an extra dimension to our attack.
While Newcastle United’s summer pursuit of Yoane Wissa not only echoed Liverpool’s summer pursuit of Alexander Isak, so too has the start to their respective careers at their new clubs. Yoane Wissa is a very talented footballer who will add not only guile, intelligent play, top-class finishing and selflessness to a strong group, but he is also a leader. Given the difficulties Newcastle United have experienced in the league so far this season, we are in dire need of a strong presence who can lift performance levels when needed. With our season finely in the balance, there will be pressure for Wissa to hit the ground running, but there is every reason to believe he will do just that.
