Liam Kennedy has been speaking on the latest edition of NUFC Matters about all things relating to Newcastle United.
One of the topics that he spent some time on was Jetro Willems and a potential return to Tyneside for the Dutchman.
The Toon signed Willems in the summer of 2019 on a season-long loan, but an injury to his ACL in January 2020 ended his Newcastle career.
There was talk that the Toon would bring him back in the last January transfer window, but nothing happened, and Kennedy can see the deal happening if Matt Ritchie were to leave the club this summer.
He said: “It was one they looked at in January, but I think budgets are going to be tight. Willems wants a lot of money to sign with him being a free agent. He’s looking at a big payday.
“I think [he], and Newcastle United were getting a little bit closer in January; we couldn’t really talk much about that at the time, but they were getting a little bit closer in terms of [the] finances of the deal, but it just never got done.
“I would argue now we’ve seen a resurgence of a Matt Ritchie; we know that he’s a player who would quite like to go back to the south coast. I think Willems might be rekindled if that one comes to fruition.”
Would you want Willems back?
No, he has had his time
Yes, would love him back
TIF Thoughts on Willems…
The 27-year-old made a big impression while he was on Tyneside and has admitted that he would like to move back to Newcastle.
However, the Toon have Jamal Lewis, Matt Ritchie, and Paul Dummett as natural left-backs, and Ritchie has been in good form recently for Newcastle, earning ratings of 7/10, 8/10, 8/10, and 7/10 respectively from The Chronicle for his last four performances.
So, it could be argued that the Toon don’t really need Willems unless Ritchie leaves, he was linked with a move back to Bournemouth, so it is possible that deal will be back on the table again.
If nothing happens, though, then we can’t see Willems returning to Newcastle anytime soon.
In other news: ‘It absolutely stinks’ – Liam Kennedy drops big PL claim over NUFC takeover