Joe Willock is in an interesting position at Newcastle United during what remains of the season.
Willock looks the most natural replacement for Joelinton at Newcastle United right now, amid suggestions the Brazilian’s knee injury will keep him out for the rest of the campaign.
Newcastle paid £25million to sign Willock in 2021 and, by and large, he’s been an excellent addition. However, first-team football has been hard to come by this season, while the 25-year-old also frequently struggled with injury last time out.
Eddie Howe rates the midfielder highly. Indeed, Howe thinks Willock has made “important contributions” this season, despite having only afforded him 16 starts across all competitions.
Newcastle fans were unhappy with Willock’s performance against Brighton, with the likes of Lewis Miley and Sean Longstaff also available in midfield. The former Arsenal youngster was also booked for diving, which invoked the ire of at least some supporters on social media.
This week, there emerged suggestions that Crystal Palace are interested in signing Willock. Speaking on Friday, the Newcastle United manager shared the latest.
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It was put to Howe during his press conference by Craig Hope of The Daily Mail that Willock needs a run of games to impress.
Effectively, it was suggested that Howe has to stick by Willock if he’s going to pick him in the team, trusting him to build back up to his very best while out on the pitch.
To an extent, the Toon boss agreed but stressed all of the players involved in the battle for a starting berth had “no excuse” not to get themselves into the best possible physical condition in training.
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It’s been a bruising season for the midfielder, who hasn’t really got up to speed. Admittedly, it’s difficult to do that when only being handed cameo appearances but it feels like an age since supporters have seen him at something approaching his top level.
| Games | Starts | Minutes Played | Goals | Assists |
| 39 | 16 | 1,465 | 3 | 2 |
The injuries he suffered last season also have to be taken into account. Over time, hopefully he can start to put them behind him.
Back in April, however, Willock confirmed he’s happy at Newcastle. Clearly a very talented player on his day and someone Howe appears to rate, it’d be fantastic to see him respond to his critics with a statement display against Chelsea on Sunday.
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