Former Newcastle United club-record signing offers different view on Yoane Wissa's struggles
Yoane Wissa has struggled to make an impact at Newcastle United after joining from Brentford for £55m last summer.
Former Newcastle United midfielder Ruel Fox believes Yoane Wissa should only be judged on the upcoming season.
Wissa joined from Brentford for £55million last summer but did little to justify his hefty price tag as he endured an extremely difficult debut campaign at St James’ Park.
The 29-year-old had to wait three months before making his debut after sustaining a knee injury on international duty with DR Congo less than a week after completing his transfer.
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By his and Eddie Howe’s own admission, Wissa rushed himself back and from then on rarely looked close to match fitness or sharpness.
Wissa ended the season with just three goals in 28 appearances, having last started a match in March.
Ruel Fox: ‘Let’s judge Yoane Wissa from this season’
The striker will compete at the World Cup with DR Congo and then enjoy a short break before linking up with Newcastle for pre-season.
Fox hopes Wissa will use the opportunity to build up his fitness and feel more settled on Tyneside so that he can be judged fairly next season.
Fox said: "When you come in, you want to hit the ground running. Unfortunately, Wissa got injured. If he'd come in and got a goal early, maybe one of the back of his head, it's different.
"You can see that he has yet to strike up a connection with his teammates because of that early setback.
"I watch games and I can see what he's trying to do when he's making runs, and because he is playing catch up his teammates aren't reading his runs and vice versa.
"It has been difficult for him to start with but once he gets games under his belt and been around the squad longer it will be OK for him.”
Fox then referred to his own experience when he joined the Magpies from Norwich City in 1994 for a then club-record £2.2million.
"Some players come in and find a connection straight away,” Fox added. “I got off to a flying start and had that with Andy Cole. It was just telepathic, he knew where I was running, and I knew where he was running, same with the crosses.
"There might be other things going on for both Nick Woltemade and Wissa. People don't always appreciate what might be going on off the pitch if a player has had to move their whole family up to Newcastle from London, which is a huge change.
"He may not be settled yet Wissa, so let's judge him from this season. Hopefully he has a good pre-season, hit the ground running and repay that faith with his goals."
Fox spoke from Gateshead Leisure Centre as he once again pulled on the black and white shirt alongside the likes of Steve Howey, Darren Peacock and Lee Clark for a walking football match in aid of Age UK.