The Premier League-proven Wissa was supposed to help ease the burden, but he hardly had the ideal preparation.<\/p>\n
The striker did not have a proper pre-season, after pushing to leave Brentford<\/a>, and suffered a knee injury on international duty with DR Congo only days after joining Newcastle<\/a>.<\/p>\n He nonetheless scored two goals in his first two starts, but has found the net only once since.<\/p>\n Winger Anthony Gordon was even handed an extended run through the middle ahead of Wissa before Osula got his chance.<\/p>\n Newcastle<\/a>‘s recruitment record has historically been strong under Howe, but they have not seen enough of a return from a desperate \u00a355m move.<\/p>\n The same can be said for an overall \u00a3100m-plus net spend last summer.<\/p>\n It was a turbulent period<\/a> in which Newcastle<\/a> missed out on a host of first-choice targets, operated without a sporting director and chief executive, and made the overwhelming majority of their signings when the season was up and running.<\/p>\n Howe was heavily involved in this recruitment drive, but it was rather telling that only one of Newcastle<\/a>‘s five outfield additions – Malick Thiaw – started against Palace.<\/p>\n