Yoane Wissa in profile – Newcastle United’s new £55m striker who replaces Alexander Isak

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Yoane Wissa is a professional footballer for Newcastle United.

It was a slog of a transfer window for Newcastle United, with one defeat after another being followed by the Hugo Ekitike fiasco.

It appeared that Newcastle were closing in on adding the Eintracht Frankfurt striker to their ranks, but they were completely gazumped by Liverpool, who targeted Ekitike after being unable to sign Alexander Isak.

Missing out on Ekitike came after Newcastle were also beaten to the signings of Liam Delap, Matheus Cunha, Joao Pedro and Bryan Mbeumo.

Not to mention the James Trafford drama, who the Magpies lost out on to Manchester City.

Liverpool eventually signed Isak anyway, but Newcastle finally managed to sign some of their own strikers with record signing Nick Woltemade and deadline day arrival Yoane Wissa.

Here’s all you need to know about him.

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Who is Yoane Wissa?

Yoane Wissa began his career as a goalkeeper but soon moved his way up the field as his talents on the ball became clear.

He spent the early years of his career knocking around the lower levels of French football, before making a name for himself at Ligue 2 side Lorient and helping them return to the top flight.

Brentford came calling in August 2021, which tends to be a sure sign of a player’s quality given their scouting network.

Wissa proved to be a versatile forward, often playing on the wing, as he was forced to wait to become the star man up front behind Ivan Toney.

Upon Toney’s exit in 2024, Wissa was finally passed the torch and he shone in 2024-25, scoring 19 Premier League goals.

Though born in France, Wissa represents DR Congo at international level.

Yoane Wissa to Newcastle United transfer

After being heavily linked with Mbeumo ahead of the window, Wissa only emerged as a Newcastle target in July, after missing out on everyone else.

Newcastle made bids of £25m and £40m rejected as a £50m price tag has been put on Wissa’s head.

Brentford really didn’t want to lose Wissa after already suffering major exits like Mbeumo and manager Thomas Frank.

However, Newcastle had hope as Wissa wanted the move, with the striker then going on strike in a similar fashion to Isak.

Wissa even released a bombshell statement expressing his desire to leave, though Newcastle had moved on to Jorgen Strand Larsen after being put off by the price.

However, with Newcastle caving into Liverpool’s £125m Isak bid and Wolves being resolute in not letting Strand Larsen go, they had to return for Wissa.

Eventually, Wissa would cost Newcastle £55m in a deal that only got completed with 30 seconds to spare on deadline day.

How old is Yoane Wissa?

Wissa was born in Epinay-sous-Senart, France, on September 3, 1996.

As of September 2025, Wissa is 29 years old.

Yoane Wissa height

Wissa stands at a diminutive 5’9″ tall.

That’s a vastly different style of striker to Woltemade, who stands at a towering 6’6″.

Despite his size, Wissa remains a strong striker capable of leading a forward line.

Yoane Wissa salary

According to SalarySport, Wissa earned £26,000 a week at Brentford.

That does seem low for a big Premier League striker but, if true, Newcastle would have been able to afford to give him a big pay rise without breaking their own wage structure.

Yoane Wissa stats

Wissa’s career stats for club and country so far.

Yoane Wissa Instagram account

Wissa has an official Instagram account with more than 212k followers. You can find it @yowissa.

He does not appear to have an official X, formerly Twitter, account.