Although Newcastle United’s upcoming game against Fulham seems redundant given they have secured safety, it could relay a £16million swing in their favour, if other results go their own – a significant sum for the club. The money could well be used to sign Joe Willock on a permanent contract from Arsenal in the summer transfer window, with the Gunners looking for £20 million, as per The Telegraph.
The impact of the signing of Willock comes three-fold. Firstly, it would most certainly appease the fans, a lot of whom put a huge part of Newcastle’s swift turnaround in the relegation fight on the 21-year-old.
Secondly, it would be a statement of intent which the like of Allan Saint-Maximin – who recently spoke his desire to win trophies and not be relegation fodder on TalkSport – can certainly get behind and perhaps become the vital tipping point in deciding his destination next season.
But the matter this piece will address is the significance it will have on the pitch for Newcastle.
So far Newcastle have created just the 14h highest number of big chances in the Premier League, totalling a 44 across the season so far.
And yet, they have two of the league’s most clinical finishers, according to Twitter account The Other 14. It shows that Willock has converted seven of the 16 shots he has taken (a conversion rate of 43.8%) and Callum Wilson has scored 12 of the 49 shots he has taken (24.5%), meaning Newcastle have players who are in first and second spot, respectively, in the conversion charts.
There is the caveat that they have a combined total of just 39 appearances, making for only about half the number of outings in comparison to a lot of their rivals in the said chart.
But the significance is not lost – it’s still a large enough pool size to quantify that if Newcastle are able to meet Steve Bruce’s and the fans’ desire of tying down Willock on either an extended loan or permanent contract, and subsequently create more chances than the 1.1 average they’ve mustered this season, the goals will surely surge next campaign.
The 1.18 goals per game average they are on that the moment speaks no more than superiority to those who have succumbed to relegation. Fans and players alike want more.
Even under Bruce – whose style has meant that Newcastle are eighth in the table for scoring set-pieces (10) and 15th from open play (24) – it’s possible. Indeed, on the metric of this campaign’s data at least, Newcastle can look to make huge strides for the next campaign – but Willock’s signature and Wilson’s fitness is pivotal.
Jacque Talbot is on Twitter.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
