Newcastle United have signed Yoane Wissa from Brentford for £55million ($74.6m) on a four-year contract.
Wissa, who turns 29 tomorrow, becomes the Tyneside club's second new striker in the space of a week in the wake of Nick Woltemade's arrival from VfB Stuttgart.
As part of this summer's transfer coverage on The Athletic, in addition to breaking news, tactical analysis and in-depth reads, our Transfers TLDR series (you can read them all here) will bring you a quick guide to each of the key deals.
Wissa's evolution into one of the Premier League's most efficient goalscorers has been gradual. He started in goal as a child and slowly crept up the pitch, making his name in France as an attacker and eventually settling at Lorient. He was crucial to the club's Ligue 2 title in 2019-20 and keeping them in the top flight the following season.
Brentford signed Wissa for £8.5m in the summer of 2021. He was deployed in a mix of starting and substitute roles in his first two seasons, including on the left wing, but became Brentford's starting centre-forward in 2023 during Ivan Toney's ban for breaking gambling rules. The DR Congo international has scored 31 goals over the past two Premier League campaigns.
Cerys Jones
Expect versatility. Wissa has played as a centre-forward for Brentford, but with Nick Woltemade also available to play that role, Wissa could slot in as a left winger or potentially an attacking midfielder. His goal threat has steadily increased as he has evolved into a centre-forward -- his rate of 0.21 goals per shot was among the best in the Premier League last season -- but he still has plenty to add elsewhere.
While Wissa has developed his threat in the box at Brentford, don't expect a bulldozing No 9. He scores plenty of his goals from poacher's positions, but also does a lot of off-the-ball work to link up with colleagues or stretch defences. At 5ft 9in (175cm) he is not the most imposing in the air, but it's a testament to his intelligent movement that he still managed to score four headers in the league last term. Expect him to earn his chances through movement and hard work rather than physicality.
Cerys Jones
Wissa is a versatile forward capable of operating across the final third, adding to what Newcastle already have in Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga. Where he differs from them is in his proficiency in the box, which he has developed over the last two seasons, as the map below shows.
Among forwards, his expected goals per shot of 0.207 trailed only Erling Haaland (0.209) in the league and was marginally better than Alexander Isak's 0.206.
Wissa's other key quality is in his selfless running out of possession to stretch opposition defences and create space for his teammates to thrive. His link-up play and defensive awareness, despite not being physically dominant, are solid too.
Anantaajith Raghuraman
Strong. The 28-year-old has only had two brief spells out of action for Brentford, both contact ankle injuries. He missed just over a month in 2021 after a challenge in training, and was out for another month last term after a tackle during the clash with Manchester City. Other than that, his record is clean.
Cerys Jones
"Wissa has been an absolutely fantastic signing," former Brentford manager Thomas Frank said in November.
"He's more than just a goalscorer -- he's a big part of the culture, a big part of driving the group. I love when he smiles because he's got an unbelievable, beautiful smile, but also brings energy and is just a good person. Most importantly a good person, and also a very good striker."
Cerys Jones
The two sides differ on the structure of the deal. Brentford claim a fixed fee of £55million has been agreed; Newcastle sources insist the fee is closer to £50m but could rise to £55m if future add-ons are met.
Wissa has signed a four-year contract, committing to life on Tyneside until June 2029. A 25 per cent sell-on clause has also been included, entitling Brentford to a proportion of any future profit Newcastle make on their new striker.
Chris Weatherspoon
Assuming agent costs of 10 per cent, alongside the Premier League's transfer levy, Wissa will cost Newcastle a total of £62.7m in fees. That is before taking into account whatever wage he will be paid at St James' Park which will, as with every transfer, push the cost ever higher.
Wissa's four-year deal means Newcastle will book around £13.5m in transfer amortisation costs in their 2025-26 books, then £16.4m per season until the end of 2029-30.
From Brentford's perspective, the deal represents yet another healthy profit on a forward, following in the wake of the sales of Bryan Mbeumo, Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins, to name just three.
Wissa joined the west London club in 2021 from French club Lorient, for a fee of £8.5m. That leaves his book value at Brentford at the time of this sale far below the price his old club have managed for him.
Wissa was contracted to an assortment of French clubs up to the age of 23, meaning they receive five per cent of the £55m fee in the form of a solidarity payment. Even after deducting that, Brentford are on for a hefty sum. The Athletic estimates they'll book a profit on Wissa's sale in the region of £50m.