3 hours ago
5
Keith Andrews has revealed that Yoane Wissa will not take part in Brentford’s opening game against Nottingham Forest on Sunday amid strong interest from Newcastle.
The forward from the Democratic Republic of the Congo is understood to have been training on his own this week as Andrews prepares to take charge of his first match since succeeding Thomas Frank, with Brentford holding out for about £40m. Newcastle have so far proved unwilling to match their valuation for the 28-year-old, who scored 19 times in the Premier League last season, having had an offer worth up to £30m rejected last month.
after newsletter promotion
Wissa has made no secret of his desire to leave after a bid from Forest was rejected by Brentford in January and Andrews said he had decided not to involve him.
“It has been a very disrupted pre-season – I think you’re aware of that interest in Yoane,” he said. “I’m very clear on the situation. As a head coach, I want Yoane in the building, to be a part of the first team and the squad. I see that moving forwards but I am very understanding of his situation. I have a very good relationship with him, and that will persist, but we have to focus on the players who are ready to play and perform on Sunday and I don’t think Yoane’s in that space. For Yoane on Sunday, he won’t be involved.”
Brentford, who are interested in signing Dango Ouattara but must wait until Bournemouth have secured a replacement, have sold last season’s top scorer, Bryan Mbeumo, to Manchester United, the captain Christian Nørgaard to Arsenal and the goalkeeper Mark Flekken to Bayer Leverkusen. Andrews would not confirm whether Jordan Henderson would be available to make his debut against Forest but he denied that so many departures could unsettle the squad.
He said: “The only one that really disrupts an ideal preparation is the Yoane Wissa situation. It’s something that hasn’t affected the players, I don’t think. Would they like him to be part of the squad? Of course they would.”
