Joe Willock has been Newcastle United’s saviour a number of times in his brief spell at the club, none more so than his 95th minute goal to restore parity at Anfield just moments after his side had been horribly wronged by VAR and the officials operating it and Steve Bruce has sent a clear message to the 21-year old’s parent club.
The Liverpool leveller was the youngsters fourth since joining the club in the January transfer window and it is no surprise that Bruce is hoping to make him a permanent fixture on Tyneside but Arsenal may not be willing to let him go following his hot run of form and this is something that the Toon head coach spoke about when asked if he would like bring Willock back to the club next season.
“I’d love to (sign him), it’s whether Arsenal would (sell him).
“We have to have conversations with Arsenal over it, Arsenal can see he has progressed with us.
“He is only young, only 21. To score his fourth goal, three of them off the bench. I was delighted for him.”
There is no Arsenal player in better form than Willock at the moment and this does worry me slightly about the chances of seeing him back at St. James’ Park come August but the lad seems to have settled in well up here and is certainly playing with a smile on his fave when Bruce gives him an opportunity to start.
Like many Newcastle fans, I was bemused not to see Willock make his return to the starting 11 after another sterling performance from the bench in the win against West Ham, he offers so much in that midfield area and is always a threat.
Starting or not, he will be a huge miss for this weekend’s clash with Arsenal but it will be interesting to see if he gets the starting spot he deserves against Leicester City on the 7th of May.
Signing Willock should be on top of our priorities list in pre-season and it is a move that all fans would be behind.