Arsenal set for huge £22m Joe Willock transfer to Newcastle

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 01: Joe Willock of Arsenal during Arsenal v Chelsea: The Mind Series at Emirates Stadium on August 1, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 01: Joe Willock of Arsenal during Arsenal v Chelsea: The Mind Series at Emirates Stadium on August 1, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images) /
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Arsenal, Joe Willock
Arsenal set for huge £22m Joe Willock transfer to Newcastle with Steve Bruce’s side willing to meet the midfielder’s valuation this summer window. (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images) /

Arsenal have so far failed to sell any players this summer window. Every club across the continent is struggling to do so in the current market and loan deals have been the common deal sanctioned this window. Joe Willock looks set to change that.

With speculation rife over transfers Arsenal are pursuing as well as sales the club have not signed off on, the need for an injection of finance remains pertinent. Unable to strike a deal with Roma for Granit Xhaka, the expected cash arrival has not been forthcoming.

£20m would have gone some way to helping Mikel Arteta secure his preferred targets, which needs to be supplemented elsewhere. With precious little in the way of valuable assets, or at least players who can garner a fee in this window, the futures of Hale End stars then grow in importance.

It’s no secret that Newcastle have been chasing Joe Willock’s signature. Ever since his sensational loan move back in January, both manager Steve Bruce and the Magpies’ supporters have been clamouring for his return.

Arsenal set for huge £22m Joe Willock transfer to Newcastle with Steve Bruce’s side willing to meet the midfielder’s valuation this summer window

The midfielder fit in like a glove on Tyneside in a system that catered to his strengths, while it was clear from the off that it was an environment he could thrive in.

Due to the magnificence of his form in the north east and his alluring profile – young, versatile and homegrown – Arsenal were able to charge willing parties significantly more than they ever thought imaginable just six months prior.

Talk of a valuation ranging from £20m up to £30m, despite his electric spell the only interested side was his temporary employers. The sticking point is that Newcastle are cash-strapped. Massively so. At the time of writing they are the only Premier League side yet to make a signing this summer window.

That looks like it’s about to change.

As per The Telegraph, while Newcastle’s budget is minimal at best, the club want Willock ‘so badly’ that they will meet the Gunners’ valuation of £22m. It will be their ‘big’ signing of the window and constitutes a massive show of faith in the 22-year-old.

Arteta is said to be ‘ambivalent at best’ about Willock, who featured in the defeat to Chelsea.

With no money making its way into Arsenal in the form of immediate cash so far this window, with only loans and obligations to buy sanctioned, this will make a considerable difference to what Arteta is hoping to achieve this window.

Should they accept £22m, though?

Continued…