It seems as if scoring the opener in Newcastle’s 2-0 win over Fulham yesterday may be the last time that Joe Willock is on the score sheet for the Magpies.
It is hardly surprising that Arsenal seem intent on keeping ahold of their young star after such an incredible loan spell on Tyneside and his seventh goal in as many games has not gone unnoticed.
With the price tag going up every time he puts the ball in the net and United’s transfer budget thought to be around the £12M mark for the summer window, there seems to be no chance of this deal happening.
Toon fans fears were all but confirmed during Mikel Arteta’s latest pre-match press conference where he said he wanted to keep ahold of Willock and the players’ social media use points further to this being the end of the road for his time in the North East.
In a message shared to his personal Instagram account, Willock said the following:
“@nufc family, Thank you for rocking with me. I will never forget the love you have showed me, the team, the fans, the city will always hold a very special place in my heat. #UTM (up the Magpies.) Goodbye.”
With the impact that Willock has had during his time at the club, most fans wouldn’t mind the club’s nickname officially changing to the ‘Magpies’ if they thought it would help persuade Willock to stay at the club.
With an incredible eight goals in his loan stay with seven coming in his last seven games, Willock will be fondly remembered on Tyneside.
There will always be a sense of ‘what if’ about Willock, could the club have maybe managed to work an option to buy clause in the loan deal as part of the negotiations?
Unfortunately, we are never likely to know what would happen if Willock were to stay but I’m sure Toon fans will keep an eye on his career in hope of a move one day.