Brentford head coach Thomas Frank suspects Yoane Wissa still has more to offer but is impressed by the “magic moments” the DR Congo forward is producing in his first season with the Bees.
Wissa joined Brentford in the summer from Lorient for a fee reported to be £8.5million and bagged three goals in his first two starts in the Carabao Cup before coming off the bench to score against both Liverpool and West Ham.
An ankle injury sidelined Wissa for several weeks but the 25-year-old celebrated his sixth goal of the season last Sunday with a superb left-foot finish that helped the Premier League newcomers to a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa.
Asked about his contributions, Frank said: “That was why we brought him in and paid quite a lot of money: to produce some of these magic moments.
“A little bit out of nothing, he produced a goal we needed the most that also changed the momentum of the game.
“I think he’s getting better and better but I still think he’s not as sharp as he was just before he got injured against West Ham.
“What I see in training, he’s doing well but he lacks the last 10 or 15 per cent of that when he was just banging goals in in training. But it’s nice to know he can still get better.”
Wissa is in line for his third successive start when Brentford visit Port Vale in the FA Cup third round on Saturday afternoon, with defender Kristoffer Ajer available again after a long lay-off following hamstring trouble.
There may be 62 places separating Brentford and the League Two Valiants, but Frank refuses to underestimate the task at hand as the Dane looks to steer the West Londoners towards another memorable cup run.
Frank, whose side were denied a semi-final place in the Carabao Cup for a second successive season after defeat to Chelsea last month, said of Vale: “I’m sure they’ll come flying out to perform and impress and do what they can to win.
“We know it’s the oldest cup tournament in the world and I would say the one with the biggest prestige to try to win.
“I love the story about cup tournaments and especially the FA Cup. Of course I followed the FA Cup a lot, especially when I was younger in Denmark, so I’m excited.
“For whatever reason since I’ve been here it’s only been the Carabao Cup we’ve been quite successful in so I’d like to change that with the FA Cup, this year I’d like to see us have a nice run.”
