You always want a young player to seize his opportunity when they head out on loan for first-team experience.
That’s certainly what Arsenal were looking for when they sent midfielder Joe Willock on loan to Newcastle United back in the January transfer window.
The thing was that Willock wasn’t a million miles away at Arsenal. He had only made two Premier League starts this season, but with three goals and three assists in five Europa League outings, he had shown his quality.
With Martin Odegaard coming in though, Willock’s first-team opportunities were going to be few and far between, so off he went to Newcastle in search of playing time before heading back to Arsenal.
So far, Willock has made a big impact. In just nine outings for Newcastle, Willock has come up with three goals; three big goals to help Newcastle edge towards safety.
He scored on his debut against Southampton, then bagged a big goal to earn a point against Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham. On Saturday, Willock came up with the winner to beat West Ham United 3-2.
At the moment, Willock is having to make do with coming off the bench, but he’s making the most of his minutes – and it’s resulted in huge praise from boss Steve Bruce.
Bruce has admitted that Willock is the kind of player he wants to build his team around, and would like to have him back at Newcastle next season – whether that’s on loan or permanently.
What would Arsenal say to that? It’s tough to guess. Willock clearly has some potential and quality, meaning he could have a future at Arsenal.
Ultimately though, Arsenal need funds, and if they can bring in money for Willock to reinvest in a star player, the Gunners may well be tempted to let him go – with a heavy heart of course.
Forget money though; Arsenal fans have taken to Twitter to suggest that they want a swap deal involving Allan Saint-Maximin instead.
The French winger is one of the most exciting players in the Premier League. He’s quick, direct and skilful, whilst having the game-changing ability to make something out of nothing.
That’s what Arsenal wanted Nicolas Pepe to be, but it just hasn’t happened. Saint-Maximin seems happy at Newcastle, but if he had the chance to join Arsenal, it may be hard to say no.
Arsenal fans have been flocking to Twitter to suggest that only a swap deal involving Saint-Maximin would be enough to tempt them into parting ways with Willock.
Some even want money included with Saint-Maximin; there’s more chance of plaiting fog, to be quite honest.
If Arsenal went in with those demands, Newcastle would surely back away and go for another midfielder; they simply can’t afford to let Saint-Maximin go, no matter what Arsenal fans may want.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
