Eddie Howe says that Yoane Wissa has impressed Newcastle United staff behind the scenes at Benton during two private practice matches.
Wissa has not kicked a ball for Newcastle since arriving from Brentford for £55million but is poised to make his debut against Burnley this weekend. Howe was hoping that Wissa would get through training unscathed on Friday before naming him on the bench.
When asked if he had caught the eye and what he had noticed about Wissa, Howe told reporters today “He’s looked good. I think we’ve seen all the qualities we saw at Brentford – his movement is very good, he’s quick, he’s sharp, he’s got that low centre of gravity.
“I think already you can see he’ll build good relationships with the players around him. I’ve been really happy with what he’s done.
“Is he at 100 per cent his best physical condition? Probably not. But I think that will take some time, it’s similar with other players that come back from injury, you’ve seen Lewis Hall going down with cramp towards the end of games. Ideally with Lewis, we’d probably have had longer to build him up, but we don’t have that luxury.
“With so many games, we need the squad fit and ready, and hopefully Yoane will have a big part to play.”
Newcastle were boosted further with Wissa’s comeback when it was announced that the 29-year-old had not been selected in the DR Congo squad for the African Cup of Nations, which runs over December and bizarrely across Christmas and new year into mid-January.
His omission from the squad eased pressure on the Magpies, who now don’t need to squeeze a game or two out of him before he would have jetted off to the competition in Morocco.
Howe said: “I think with just the way the season has gone and how he’s been feeling, his priority at the moment was to make sure he concentrates solely on his fitness and he has no other distractions or pressures to be fit.
“We’re trying to make the right decisions for him on a daily basis. We’ve planned his comeback from a long time out, it’s been about trying to get him right in the quickest time possible, but then also when he is ready and able to take the load.
“We’re confident we can do that.”