Neil Warnock believes Joe Willock will cost £20 million to sign this summer, following the impact he has made on loan at Newcastle United.
The manager of Middlesbrough has admitted he likes the midfielder, but knows a move by his club is highly unlikely.
Willock has quickly endeared himself to Toon supporters, having scored three goals since his January switch from Arsenal.
His goals have been worth five points for the Magpies, and fans are already clamouring for the club to snap him up permanently.
In the eyes of Warnock, any Arsenal sale of Willock could cost Newcastle around as much as they paid for Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron.
He said (Teesside Live): “Look at (Joe) Willock at Newcastle – I like him, but he’s probably going to go for about £20m if they get him.”
It is not out of the question that Arsenal could look to try and keep Willock given his promising stint.
That said, Willock appears to be enjoying his time in the North East, and did actually declare his openness to extending his stay at the club recently.
£20 million sounds about right
A £20 million fee to get Willock permanently doesn’t sound too unreasonable.
He is obviously nowhere near the finished article, but he’s undoubtedly a talented young player with high potential.
He’s shown he can score goals from midfield which is exactly what Newcastle need.
It’s to be expected that an English Premier League player with high potential would cost such an amount.
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