Sell him before Willock: No one is talking about big-money Newcastle flop

It’s been an ambitious era at Newcastle United, and plenty of ups and downs have characterised the PIF era.

Here’s the thing: breaking the elite hegemony at the top of the Premier League is no easy task. While some clubs resort to covert tactics whose morality runs far beyond simply questionable, the Magpies have been bound by the division’s laws.

It has created some bumps in the road, but Newcastle should be proud of their progress over the past five years, forced to sell their superstars but replacing them well (for the most part).

REUTERS/Scott Heppell

Now that the bigger names have moved on, Matthias Jaissle and co need to reinforce the wider squad, and that could lead to some lighter changes.

However, whether supporters are on board with Joe Willock’s potential departure remains to be seen.

Why Newcastle fans don’t want to see Willock sold

There are a number of contract issues that St. James’ Park technical director Ross Wilson needs to sort out. Joelinton, appointed vice-captain this summer, is among them, but the Brazilian has not yet featured under Jaissle, sidelined, and Willock may well be more important when considering the emphatic way he has started the campaign.

Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith

Having joined Newcastle from Arsenal for £25m in August 2021 after a prolific six-month loan spell which served as the perfect audition, Willock has struggled to sustain top form. He played his part across the Eddie Howe era, but never quite hit the heights envisaged when he left the Emirates for a bigger role.

Jaissle employs a high-octane tactical approach – and that requires robust box-to-box options such as Willock. He has been excellent so far this season, scoring three goals across seven games. In the Premier League, he has completed 94% of his passes and 67% of his dribbles.

Besiktas had shown interest this summer, but they would not meet Newcastle’s £17m valuation. He is out of contract next summer, but there’s talk of an extension for the technical Englishman, arguably playing his finest football in black and white since those early days as a loanee.

Let’s be honest, with Besiktas unwilling to come close to the Toon’s valuation, it would make a lot of sense to renew resurgent Willock’s deal on Tyneside.

The 27-year-old has a part to play, but the same can’t be said for every member of the Newcastle persuasion, with a big-money signing sure to be one of the first sold next summer.

Newcastle must sell big-money flop

Given the number of changes made in midfield this summer – namely, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali both being sold – perhaps it makes sense to keep Willock at the club, steering the way from the centre of the park alongside young newbies.

However, some do need moving on next summer, and Nick Woltemade is chief among them. The Germany international joined the Tynesiders from Stuttgart in a club-record £69m deal last year, but after a fast start in the Premier League, tapered away. He has since been loaned out to Juventus, where he is struggling to get going.

Across the second half of the season, he was a passenger, rarely producing the talismanic performances Howe’s side needed to fight off the rot that spread and dragged them down to a 12th-place Premier League finish.

He scored eight goals and finished the campaign with a 25% conversion rate. This is very impressive, and for context, Alexander Isak converted at a rate of 23% across the 2024/25 season, his most prolific as a Newcastle forward.

The issue, of course, was that Woltemade was far too conservative in front of goal. He hit the target 0.4 times per game on average, and has thus far struggled to prove his worth on loan with Juventus this season.

Woltemade has only featured as a substitute across three fixtures in Serie A this season, with reports in Italy already suggesting that the Old Lady are unconvinced, sounding out a possible move for Monaco striker Folarin Balogun in 2027. It’s worth noting that the loan deal agreed between Newcastle and Juventus contains no buy option.

Howe saw something in the big German striker, but it’s worth remembering Woltemade arrived as Isak’s replacement after a long and protracted summer window which saw any number of transfer targets fall by the wayside.

Ultimately, the fact that Juventus are thus far unconvinced is not going to do Woltemade any favours. Jaissle shipped him out quite quickly, and given the need for a sharper cutting edge at Newcastle, it makes a lot of sense to sell him quickly next year and turn the funds toward a new target.