Yoane Wissa: Keith Andrews confirms wantaway Brentford striker will not play in Premier League opener | OneFootball

Striker is pushing for west London exit

Keith Andrews has confirmed that Yoane Wissa won’t be part of Brentford’s squad against Nottingham Forest.

Wissa has been the subject of interest from Newcastle, who are weighing up a £35million bid for the forward.

“We’ve made a decision that he’s not [available],” Andrews said of the Congolese.

"It’s been a very disruptive pre-season with the interest. The message is clear, I want him in the building, I want him to be part of the first-team squad. I see that moving forward but I'm very understanding of his situation. I have a good relationship with him and that will persist.

"But we have to focus on the players that are ready to perform on Sunday and Yoane isn’t in that space."

Wissa returned to London for talks with the club’s director of football, Phil Giles, where he made clear his desire to leave the Gtech Community Stadium.

Brentford’s record Premier League goalscorer was said to have been left frustrated as he believed he was given assurances last year that he could leave the club this summer.

The west Londoners don’t want to let Wissa leave, having already lost captain Christian Norgaard, last season’s top scorer Bryan Mbeumo, and longstanding head coach Thomas Frank this summer.

They have placed a £50m valuation on Wissa to fend off interest in the striker and rejected a £25m offer from Newcastle last month.

Brentford also rejected an offer in the region of £20m from Nottingham Forest, while Tottenham, managed by former boss Frank, enquired about Wissa earlier in the window.

Brentford kick off the new Premier League season with a trip to the City Ground to take on Forest on Sunday..