At 7pm on Monday, Newcastle United fans everywhere collectively breathed a sigh of relief as the summer transfer window shut in England.
Having brought in the likes of Anthony Elanga, Aaron Ramsdale, Malick Thiaw and Jacob Ramsey, the final week saw us complete two much-needed deals in attack: German striker Nick Woltemade and Brentford forward Yoane Wissa.
The Wissa deal finally got over the line after weeks of talks and two failed bids, with Newcastle agreeing to pay a whopping £50m plus add-ons.
However, it’s emerged that there was even a moment on deadline day where things very nearly went horrible wrong, as a new report reveals…
Wissa rush revealed
According to Sky Sports’ Keith Downie, Newcastle almost missed out on signing Yoane Wissa on deadline day, only completing the deal with 30 seconds to spare at 8:59pm.
Clubs are allowed to continue finalising deals past the window’s deadline (7pm) as long as they have submitted a deal sheet, but only have a two hour window to do so.
However, despite Wissa arriving early to the Nortb East on deadline day after a breakthrough between us and Brentford in negotiations, one piece of paperwork was accidentally left unsigned.
Downie claims that “it was left to one of the representatives to sprint through Newcastle’s training ground to find the striker and get him to hurriedly sign the document with a couple of minutes of the deal sheet extension period left.”
Thankfully, we didn’t get a repeat of the famous Real Madrid/David De Gea fax machine incident, and all our paperwork looks to have been in all order to confirm Wissa’s arrival at St James’ Park.
What next for our new No. 9?
Having seen his signing saved by 30 seconds, Wissa will have Champions League football to look forward to next season, with the offer of playing in Europe’s elite competition a huge draw.
But before then, he’s jetted off for international duty with DR Congo, where they will play against South Sudan and Senegal as part of their World Cup qualifying campaign.
This completes a mad week for the striker, who drove up to Newcastle in the early hours of Monday to ensure he was on Tyneside and ready to begin his medical ASAP on deadline day.
After Wissa has played for his country, he’ll finally look to get some Premier League minutes in the tank this season, with him and fellow new boy Nick Woltemade in contention to face Wolves a week on Saturday.
This highlights the total lack of professionalism in the Summer window with no CEO or DOF.
Well done PIF!
Joseph(Quote)
Which is why we are reportedly going to hire David Hopkinson as CEO and Ross Wilson as DoF in the coming weeks, HTL.
Johnny Mac(Quote)
Worryingly shambolic when spending £55 million and in the circumstances ., whoever is in charge of paperwork needs sacking
Mike(Quote)
The whirlwind week for Wissa really shows how busy professional athletes’ lives can get, juggling transfers, international duty, and new team expectations. Similarly, when planning your next visit to Starbucks, having a cafe menu it is an updated guide to Starbucks menu categories—coffees, teas, refreshers, breakfast, lunch, and bakery—featuring prices, calories, nutrition details, and a handy calculator—helps you quickly decide what to try. Just like keeping track of a player’s schedule, a well-organized menu makes navigating options much easier and more enjoyable.
Ali(Quote)
There was paperwork (& medicals/negotiations/media work etc) for Isak, Wissa, Osula (twice, without completion), Sanusi, and a few others on D Day this time for Newcastle (unlike other times) that too while being short of people. Its ok, as long as nothing went wrong. Happens at different clubs on some D Day or other, one just doesn’t always hear about it.
P(Quote)