Newcastle United made a ruthless call on Callum Wilson last summer, but it has not exactly aged brilliantly given replacement Yoane Wissa has failed to match him this season.
Last summer, Newcastle United allowed Wilson to leave at the end of his contract before eventually signing Wissa from Brentford. At the time, it looked like a necessary refresh and upgrade for the club.
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Wilson was 33, injury prone and no longer a reliable long-term option. Wissa, meanwhile, was coming off a strong spell at Brentford and arrived with Premier League pedigree.
Yet the reality this season has been nothing like Newcastle would have imagined. Wilson has outshone the man who effectively replaced him.
Callum Wilson has made Newcastle look silly
Wissa was always deemed as Wilson’s replacement at Newcastle, with fellow new arrival Nick Woltemade the man to replace Alexander Isak. The idea was surely that Wissa’s Premier League experience meant he could hit the ground running.
Newcastle reluctantly paid over £50million to sign Wissa, banking on him coming in and instantly replacing a seasoned operator like Wilson.
Pretend you’re in charge – WHO are you appointing next?! 🤔
Also, feel free to name someone not pictured! (I'd love Xabi Alonso)
That contrast alone is brutal. They parted with one of the largest fees in club history, while Wilson walked away for free.
Wilson has scored six Premier League goals for West Ham this season. Wissa has one for Newcastle.
As if those numbers weren’t bad enough, Wilson has also made more appearances than the man who replaced him on Tyneside. Few would have expected that at the start of the campaign.
All of that makes for painful reading for Newcastle supporters, made all the worse when remembering how often Wilson’s own availability was questioned on Tyneside.
Wissa has so far been a disaster for Newcastle
There should be a relative amount sympathy for Wissa. His Newcastle career was disrupted almost immediately by injury, with Eddie Howe later confirming a longer spell on the sidelines than first expected.
Clearly, that matters. It explains some of the slow start and makes any final judgement slightly unfair, even if Wissa has invoked the ire of fans at times with some of his performances.
Still, Newcastle did not pay more than £50million for excuses or mitigating factors. They paid for goals and have received precious little of them.
This does not mean Newcastle were wrong to move on from Wilson, of course. Age, wages and fitness all made that decision understandable. Hindsight is a wonderful gift, after all.
The fact is, however, that West Ham spent nothing on Wilson and banked decisive goals. Newcastle have next to nothing to show for what was a significant investment.
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