✍️ OFFICIAL Joe Willock (Out)

[HairSprayGooners]

Feels like the club are desperate to raise funds for incomings and are working their way down the list of players they're open to selling. If you can't shift wasters like Torreira or Kola or decent high wage players like Laca or Hector, you've got to work your way down the list to the likes of Willock, who actually have some interest in them.

I'm not even the biggest Willock fan out there but he took a risk and went out on loan and realistically did all that could be asked of him. It doesn't set a good precedent really.

Good luck to him if he moves on.

I really don't think the club need the money. Its more the opportunity to sell Willock and probably the player wanting first team football.

 

[drippin]

I really don't think the club need the money. Its more the opportunity to sell Willock and probably the player wanting first team football.

Plus Willock would need to renew, which I think he doesn't want to, or should.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

Plus Willock would need to renew, which I think he doesn't want to, or should.

Yeah exactly, natural crossroad for the player/club. I've seen consistency in people saying our budget was always between £150-175M not including sales.

 

[Blood on the Tracks]

I really don't think the club need the money. Its more the opportunity to sell Willock and probably the player wanting first team football.

Well we're less than a week away from the season starting and we are selling a younger player coming off the back of a very successful loan spell. While we've struggled to move on any of the senior players we'd assumed would depart this summer.

If the plan was to sell Willock all along, which I don't think was the case based on things Arteta said during his loan spell, why not sell him earlier in the window? Newcastle and Bruce made it clear from the offset they wanted him permanently.

Raising funds seems pretty obviously a motivation for selling Willock late in the window.

 

[drippin]

If the plan was to sell Willock all along, which I don't think was the case based on things Arteta said during his loan spell, why not sell him earlier in the window? Newcastle and Bruce made it clear from the offset they wanted him permanently.

Hard to sell for example if the buyer doesn't make a bid, or a bid that is good enough for valuation.

 

[Blood on the Tracks]

Hard to sell for example if the buyer doesn't make a bid, or a bid that is good enough for valuation.

I guess it depends on how you look at it.
Bruce was very open about wanting to sign Willock permanently from the outset. I doubt Newcastle would have baulked at the fee 2 months ago but are willing to pay it now.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

I guess it depends on how you look at it.
Bruce was very open about wanting to sign Willock permanently from the outset. I doubt Newcastle would have baulked at the fee 2 months ago but are willing to pay it now.

They literally didn't bid though. You can't magic a bid out of thin air, teams will always wait until the last minute to get their main targets to try and get the fee down. Hence why so many big deals are done in August.

 

[Trill]

Sad to see him go. But I can't say I ever saw him becoming a starter here. Would have been a lot happier if we could have got an extra 5 mil for him.

I genuinely think we'll regret losing Nelson though. I'd honestly rather he take Willian's place in the squad. There was a combination he had with Smith-Rowe in his brief cameo against Tottenham that looked like real Arsenal football.

 

[Blood on the Tracks]

They literally didn't bid though. You can't magic a bid out of thin air, teams will always wait until the last minute to get their main targets to try and get the fee down. Hence why so many big deals are done in August.

Or we weren't open to bids for Willock at that time because we didn't want to sell him. Our stance on him changed later in the window when we couldn't move on the other players we anticipated leaving.

There is more than one possible scenario here.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

Or we weren't open to bids for Willock at that time because we didn't want to sell him. Our stance on him changed later in the window when we couldn't move on the other players we anticipated leaving.

There is more than one possible scenario here.

Agreed, there's multiple possible scenarios. But I don't think money is one of them. It doesn't make sense.

 

[Sammy1887]

Agreed, there's multiple possible scenarios. But I don't think money is one of them. It doesn't make sense.

 

[carter777]

Where did you see that?

May have jumped the gun on this. Saw a few accounts saying 25% after the news broke but more places saying it's likely 10-15% now.

 

[Blankety Blank]

Basically had a CM who in first PL became highest English scoring CM in the PL despite not playing a high amount of playing time any other club would looking for over £50m for him.

The guy played a few games, some as sub & went on a mad scoring purple patch. Nobody in their right mind would pay over £50m

If this season he plays lots of games & hits 15 goals or so from midfield, yes you have a point.

 

[Big Poppa]

I really don't think the club need the money. Its more the opportunity to sell Willock and probably the player wanting first team football.

I actually agree with you. Willock’s on what, £20k per week here? His contract expires in 2 years and even if the club offerered him a new deal, he probably wouldn’t sign it without some reassurances on playing time.

Where people are setting themselves up for disappointment is in thinking that these funds are what we’ve needed to close on our targets

 

[HairSprayGooners]

I actually agree with you. Willock’s on what, £20k per week here? His contract expires in 2 years and even if the club offerered him a new deal, he probably wouldn’t sign it without some reassurances on playing time.

Where people are setting themselves up for disappointment is in thinking that these funds are what we’ve needed to close on our targets

Exactly. Its an opportunistic sale. The club made a mistake last summer on AMN, they won't be making that mistake now with Willock.

 

[Blankety Blank]

Exactly. Its an opportunistic sale. The club made a mistake last summer on AMN, they won't be making that mistake now with Willock.

15m from Wolves for AMN didnt seem like decent money at the time.
Now after stating he doesnt wanna play full back & an uninspiring loan at WBA it looks like we should have taken it.

Still hope we can get a decent fee if he goes

 

[truth_hurts]

I am surprised that Willock didn't receive more offers. Maybe his mind was set on Newcastle?

Bit if a drop for the boy who was linked to Bayern.

 

[Scottish_Gooner.]

It is sad to see him go and he deserves a chance but the people complaining we haven't signed a CAM are also the one's complaining about him leaving...
Yes the like of Elneny should be away first, we all know that but no one is going to buy him. Someone buying Joe allows us to free up a space/ money to sign that player we need.

The club ****ed up not selling AMN/ Bellerin last year, looks like third time lucky.

 

[MartiSaka]

$25 million is not Iwobi level great but its not highway robbery either. IMO its reasonable. We have to sell our good players like Willock, because we can't sell our bad players unfortunately. $25 million for a youth player in a covid market is a success story IMO.

 

[razörist]

1 full season at newcastle and he’s worth 50M. Simp club.