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

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…

Arsenal Have to Sell Joe Willock for £22m

Everything comes with a caveat. In this instance, Arsenal should absolutely keep hold of Willock if he isn’t replaced in the window. That really goes without saying.

On the proviso that the £22m is spent on someone who can arrive in quick time and lift the quality of the squad in that department, it is a no-brainer. For £22m, Willock has to be sold.

That’s the valuation Arsenal have set for the midfielder and therefore if met it’s going to be a simple transaction, and from a theoretical point of view that will mark one of the few success stories in the club’s recruitment over the past few years.

It would have been unfathomable to gain that kind of money for Willock back in December. Criticism of him was over the top – even if he hadn’t managed to find consistent form – and with two years left on his contract the thought of that amount of money being spent on him would have been laughed off.

Now, in August, his value has never been higher, and almost certainly won’t be raised in the next 12 months; Newcastle are not a direct rival and there isn’t a bidding war ongoing to jump the price up. It’s a great deal. The kind Arsenal have failed to pounce on in the past.

It’s always tough seeing a Hale End, an Arsenal, lad leave, but he will not be earning regular minutes in north London and the systematic shuffle needed to get the best out of him will limit other players in the squad.

This is a deal that suits all parties: Willock is a local lad making a big move in his career, but it was clear he loved his time up at St James’ Park, meanwhile Arsenal earn vital monetary gain and Newcastle acquire a very talented young player.

Progress as he did in his previous spell there and this won’t be his last move. Willock can achieve more in the game.

What Arsenal have done, to their credit, is set a value and stick to it. There was talk of a nonsense loan being sanctioned, which would have been totally farcical, and now they’ve set a precedent to other sides trying to sign their players on bargain deals that their best assets have worth that needs meeting.

If this move goes ahead, where does it leave Arsenal? Well, it leaves them in need of midfielders. Hopefully this transfer can springboard that.