Newcastle United desperately need Yoane Wissa to be starting games.
The £55million man is finally available after injury, but has been limited to three substitute appearances so far. None of them have been anything to write home about, with Yoane Wissa yet to announce himself as a Newcastle United player.
That moment will hopefully come soon, especially as there are concerns that Nick Woltemade is suffering from fatigue. The 23-year-old was particularly poor during Newcastle’s defeat to Sunderland, and that is without factoring in his own goal.
Newcastle United need an alternative up front, but that will only happen once Wissa is deemed fit enough to start.
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We'll start – get Yoane Wissa in the starting XI!!!
Eddie Howe hints Yoane Wissa could start for Newcastle United against Fulham
That could potentially happen on Wednesday night, as Eddie Howe has not ruled out the possibility of including Wissa in his starting XI.
The Magpies face Fulham in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup, and the Newcastle United manager has provided an update on Wissa’s condition ahead of that game.
“I’ll make a decision on that [whether he’s able to start] in consultation with everybody else,” he said via the club’s official X account.
“We’ll have to see whether he can execute what we need him to.”
What Eddie Howe said about Yoane Wissa after losing to Sunderland
Howe’s latest comments on Wissa represent quite the turnaround from Sunday.
Wissa was on the bench against Sunderland, coming on in the 75th minute in place of Woltemade. He was barely involved, with his big moment coming when he narrowly failed to get on the end of Jacob Murphy’s cross.
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After the game, Howe stated that Wissa was not ready to play 90 minutes, which is why he was utilised as a substitute.
Howe said: “I don’t think Yoane’s ready to play 90 minutes but I think he was ready to play the minutes that he played today.”
Fast forward a few days and suddenly Wissa could be put in a position to play 90 minutes. It would be a possibility if he was named in the starting XI.
Hopefully he is deemed fit enough to start, as it is clear that Woltemade needs a rest. The alternative is playing Anthony Gordon through the middle, which is an experiment that has failed on multiple occasions this season.