Yoane Wissa resurgence continues as Newcastle United watch on
Newcastle United striker Yoane Wissa continued his impressive run of scoring form for DR Congo in the AFCON qualifiers last night.
Yoane Wissa has bounced back from his penalty miss for Newcastle United against Hull City with two goals during the international break for DR Congo.
The 30-year-old scored in a 2-0 AFCON qualifier win against Equatorial Guinea last week and followed it up with a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win against Zimbabwe.
It took Wissa’s goal record to eight in his last 12 appearances for DR Congo since returning from a knee injury that ruled him out of the opening months of his Newcastle career last season.
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But Wissa has made a strong start to the season at club level too with an assist and man of the match display against Liverpool followed up by a goal against Tottenham Hotspur. After various fitness issues saw him struggle to tie down a starting spot last season, he has been a consistent starter in the side under Matthias Jaissle.
Following the matches against Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe, DR Congo now face Uganda home and away before Wissa returns to Tyneside ready for the return of Premier League football. Newcastle’s next match takes place at Coventry City on Monday, October 12.
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Yoane Wissa brought into NUFC leadership group
Wissa’s more prominent role at Newcastle this season under Jaissle has seen him named in the club’s leadership group alongside captain Dan Burn, vice-captain Joelinton, Malick Thiaw and Lewis Miley.
Prior to being confirmed in the leadership group, Wissa captained Newcastle in their 1-0 win over Millwall in the Carabao Cup in the absence of Burn, Joelinton, Thiaw and Miley from the starting line-up.
“Wiss is, among some other players also a leader, definitely,” Jaissle told The Gazette. “He showed that from the start, when we joined already in the training camp [in La Manga], that he can communicate a lot, he has positive energy, and he performs also on the pitch at the moment, so that was the reason behind [naming him as captain v Millwall].”
When asked about Wissa’s change in role and fortunes at Newcastle this season, Jaissle added: “I had conversations with him, like with many other players, and unfortunately I cannot compare with Eddie [Howe], and that's something I will never do, because I give him always the maximum amount of respect for what he did here.
“Sometimes it's also on the players. They have some lows, then they have some highs in their career, this is normal.”