Newcastle star Yoane Wissa has turned his career around, the debate is now over

Newcastle United forward Yoane Wissa has scored again, finding the net as DR Congo beat Equatorial Guinea 2-0 on Thursday in their opening AFCON qualifier.

Former Magpie Chancel Mbemba got the other goal, with the 30-year-old doubling the lead in the second half.

The former Brentford man has looked a player reborn this season under Matthias Jaissle, finding the net against Tottenham and providing an assist against Liverpool.

Newcastle signed Wissa for £55million last summer and hoped that he would build on the season that saw him score 20 goals across all competitions for the Bees.

But he was injured almost immediately, and both he and Nick Woltemade would ultimately fail to live up to the pressure of replacing Alexander Isak.

Eddie Howe stepped down in the summer and new manager Jaissle appears to have breathed new life into Wissa, who has been in superb form.

Yoane Wissa avoids injury

Wissa has always been at his best when he was able to combine in close quarters with his teammates.

At Brentford, it was his relationship with Bryan Mbeumo that saw both players excel under Thomas Frank.

Howe did not create the same surroundings for the striker at Newcastle, and he was almost always used in replacement of Woltemade, rather than alongside him.

Jaissle has given Wissa the relationships he needs, with Joe Willock, Anthony Elanga and now Matias Fernandez-Pardo sharing close quarters with him.

Interestingly, it was Noah Sadiki most advanced to support the 30-year-old on Thursday, despite normally appearing as a central midfielder for Sunderland.

Wissa's goal was well taken, as he rolled the defender and struck low past the goalkeeper. He took two shots on target, also completing two recoveries and winning a duel.

It also marked the putting to bed of a painful memory for the striker. Just over a year ago on the same Stade des Martyrs de la Pentecote pitch, he suffered the knee injury that would scupper his early Newcastle days.

Matthias Jaissle raves about Wissa

Last week could have gone better for Wissa, who missed a penalty as Newcastle narrowly beat Hull City 2-1.

But it speaks to the striker's renewed energy and confidence that he continued to work and received the compliments of Jaissle after the game.

"He led on a high level. Yoane sacrificed a lot for the team and worked a lot out of possession for the team," he said after the game. "Missing penalties can happen. But he showed up and showed personality in the second half."

Wissa will also expect to take part in Monday's qualifier against Zimbabwe, with DR Congo then set to take Uganda on in consecutive friendlies.