More clinical than Ekitike: Newcastle explore move for “remarkable” £50m CF

More clinical than Ekitike: Newcastle explore move for “remarkable” £50m CF.

Newcastle’s new striker target

 

Newcastle’s new striker target

 

The biggest story of the summer appears to be coming to a close, as Liverpool appears to have put an end to Newcastle United’s chase of Hugo Ekitike. Journalist Julien Laurens confirmed that Eddie Howe’s team is “out of the race” to sign the Frenchman.

 

That hurts the Magpies because the striker is reportedly going to join the Reds, but it also makes it more likely that Alexander Isak will stay at St. James’ Park this season. Newcastle “insists” that their first-choice striker is not for sale this summer, according to Fabrizio Romano.

 

It still appears that the North East team will look to add a new number nine to help support Isak up front.

Newcastle’s new striker target

 

Even though the Magpies’ attempt to sign Ekitike this summer was unsuccessful, it is still clear that they want to get a center-forward. That is still very much the case, though, if the recently released reports are accurate.

 

According to a recent talkSPORT story, Newcastle is reportedly “ready to join the race” for Brentford attacker Yoane Wissa and is seeking another number nine this summer.

 

Given that the DR Congo is “pushing to leave” the Gtech Community Stadium this summer, Howe and the St. James’ Park management may see an opportunity to sign him.

 

For the 28-year-old, there is intense competition, though. Former manager Thomas Frank, who is currently at Tottenham Hotspur, is interested in him. Nottingham Forest is also very interested and has even made a £25 million bid. That was far less than Brentford’s assessment, which is quadruple that at £50 million.

Why Wissa would be a good signing

 

Wissa’s game has clearly improved significantly, and the more Premier League football he plays, the better he gets. Journalist Zach Lowy called the assailant a “remarkable” forward back in June.

 

He has accumulated an outstanding goal total of 45 goals and 13 assists in 137 English Premier League outings with the Bees. In three of his four Premier League seasons, he has contributed ten or more goals, and in the previous two seasons, he has achieved this feat just by scoring goals.

 

Wissa had the best season of his career during the 2024–2025 season. The Brentford number 11 scored 19 goals and provided five assists in 35 Premier League outings. It’s simple to understand why they want to sign him this summer for £50 million.

 

The Brentford forward actually had a better season than Ekitike had the previous season, just in terms of goals scored. Despite contributing eight assists in 33 Bundesliga games, the Frenchman, who plays for Eintracht Frankfurt, lacked Wissa’s clinical skill.

The Reims native, 23, only scored 15 league goals for Eintracht during the 2024–25 season, four less than the DR Congo attacker scored.

Furthermore, Wissa enjoyed a better goal-scoring run than Ekitike, scoring in four straight league games compared to Ekitike’s best of three. The fact that Wissa is a more clinical striker than Ekitike is supported by statistics.

According to Squawka’s statistics, he has more non-penalty goals per game (0.6 vs. 0.5) and a higher conversion percentage (27.54%) than the Frenchman (17.24%), demonstrating how skillfully he takes his chances.

 

Wissa might be the ideal player to alternate with Isak, despite the fact that the Magpies regret not signing Ekitike.

 

They need a clinical number nine to match the Swedish attacker’s 23 Premier League goals from the previous season.

 

In order to help Howe’s team advance in the Premier League and take Newcastle to the next level, Wissa might be the ideal addition this season.