BBC pundit Garth Crooks has praised Joe Willock for his performance for Newcastle against Brentford on Saturday.
The summer signing from Arsenal was influential once again for the Magpies at the weekend.
He was on hand to score the second goal in the 2-0 victory, latching onto a ball from Fabian Schar and finishing with aplomb.
It’s now two goals in two games for Willock after he also found the net against West Ham United.
He really struggled in the first half of the season after his £25 million permanent transfer.
But he appears to now be flourishing, and him finding form seems to have coincided with the arrival of Bruno Guimaraes.
Newcastle fans will hope it can last through until the end of the season. And that he can make contributions to help the club pull completely away from the relegation zone.
Willock has been coming in for lots of plaudits. Including from Crooks, who has included him in his latest Premier League Team of the Week.
He said of him (BBC Sport): “Since this young man’s arrival at St James’ Park from Emirates Stadium he’s found the going rather tough. Injuries and sickness have largely interrupted his ability to get into any consistent form at Newcastle.
“Nevertheless we’ve seen glimpses of what he can do, and he certainly has an eye for goal. Against Brentford he showed that he also has the eye for the spectacular.
“His finish was superb while his performances get better with each game. Howe said after his performance against West Ham when he scored the equaliser, that this was a player who with the right development could go a long way. I think he’s right.”
Crook also included Schar and Joelinton in his team.
Schar was immense once again at the back, while Joelinton continued his breathtaking emergence as a midfield destroyer.
Joe Willock finally proving why Newcastle were desperate to have him back
Newcastle were undoubted helped on Saturday by the red card for Josh Dasilva.
But it was still an excellent performance from the team as a collective. And it was great to see Willock scoring for the second game running.
Something seems to have just clicked with him in recent weeks.
Perhaps Bruno’s arrival is helping him to turn out these great performances.
Whatever it is, he is thoroughly deserving of his starting berth at the moment.
He was pivotal for Newcastle last season during his loan spell. And fans will now be hoping for more of the same this time around.
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