Newcastle Shifts Focus To Brentford’s Wissa

Newcastle United are exploring a deal to sign Brentford forward Yoane Wissa after backing away from their pursuit of Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike, The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported on Thursday.

According to Ornstein, Newcastle are expected to contact Brentford soon, though formal discussions have not yet begun. Personal terms would also need to be agreed with Wissa, who is under contract until June 2026, with the club holding an option for an additional year.

Wissa, 28, finished the 2024–25 season as the Premier League’s top scorer from open play, recording 19 goals in 35 appearances. Nottingham Forest recently saw a bid for the DR Congo international turned down.

Newcastle had prioritized a move for Ekitike, but after seeing a bid worth €80 million rejected by Eintracht Frankfurt and given Liverpool’s interest in a transfer for the youngster, they seemed to have moved on to more realistic targets.

On that front, Ornstein noted that Newcastle are “not actively working on (Ekitike’s) situation at present.”

Wissa is now considered high among Newcastle’s alternative targets, though Brentford’s stance on a sale could be influenced by the future of Bryan Mbeumo, who is reportedly wanted by Manchester United.

That said, Brentford’s demands in exchange for Mbeumo seem to have Man Utd second-guessing their willingness to pay that much for him, so everything is a bit up in the air.

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