One of the success stories from Arsenal this season has been Joe Willock. The Englishman was sent on loan to Newcastle in January and he’s really excelled, netting six Premier League goals.
Now with just a week of the season left, attention turns to the future of the 21-year-old. He’s come through the academy at the club and been given plenty of first-team minutes, but the dynamic midfielder will want to be playing regular Premier League football now.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal want a fee of between £25million and £30million to even begin talks to sell Willock this summer.
There’s a discussion to be had as to whether or not Arsenal should be selling the Hale End Academy graduate. We’ve seen how his fellow graduates, Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, have not only made the step up to the Arsenal first team, but they have become leaders of this team.
Willock undoubtedly brings something to the squad that no other Arsenal midfielder currently does – goals from midfield. He’s a player who works hard and can be very productive in front of goal.
His limitations are in his possession skills. Statistically, despite good performances overall, Joe ranks very low amongst his peers on the ball. As current Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is striving to become a team that dominates possession, is Willock the right fit? Or should Arsenal cash in whilst value is high and invest those funds in players more suited.
For me, a lot depends on the system Arteta is planning for next season. Arsenal will lose Dani Ceballos and Martin Odegaard as their loans expire and Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira are likely to move on permanently.
This presents an opportunity for Arsenal and Arteta to build his midfield options exactly how he wants them. Willock has excelled for Newcastle in a right central midfielder role in a three-man midfield.
Time will tell if Arteta wants Willock but if he doesn’t, then Arsenal are likely to reap the rewards of a successful loan spell seeing the player’s value increase substantially.