Joe Willock is officially in at Newcastle United, and is in contention for his first involvement this weekend against Southampton.
The 21-year-old completed a deadline day loan move from Arsenal and is raring to go after struggling for minutes with the Gunners.
Expectations are high with Willock the only incoming in the winter window, and fans are desperate for him to freshen things up in the midfield.
They want goals and they want assists, but at the very least, they want someone who will play for the badge.
There’s been some early talk about how Steve Bruce should utilise the Englishman, and the manager should perhaps take the advice of Freddie Ljungberg, who spoke about the player in November.
The Swede was a guest for Sky Sports’ coverage of Leeds United vs Arsenal on November 22, when he gave an exciting verdict.
He said: “I rate him very highly.
“Of course he is a young player who has a lot to learn, but he needs to play games, to rectify those small mistakes he does within the game
“If you use him as a box-to-box player he will score goals, and he is just as quick as Aubameyang when he opens up his legs – he’s a very fast player.”
Club legend Ljungberg, of course, knows Willock extremely well having worked with him in the Arsenal youth ranks and again as he took charge of the first-team on an interim basis before the arrival of Mikel Arteta.
Hayden-Willock-Almiron
Bruce needs to heed the comments of Ljungberg and deploy Willock in that box-to-box role.
If he sits Isaac Hayden just in front of the defence, and has Miguel Almiron operating as an attacking midfielder, then that could be a really good mix with Willock going from box-to-box to support both.
That would mean Bruce overlooking Jonjo Shelvey and Jeff Hendrick though – something many Newcastle fans will not hold their breath about.
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