Newcastle United have become a much weaker side following Joe Willock’s return to Arsenal, says the club’s former defender Steve Howey.
Willock spent the second half of last season on loan with Newcastle and really upped the quality at St. James’ Park.
During that temporary stint on Tyneside, the 21-year-old midfielder managed to score eight goals in just 14 league games, helping the Magpies to victories against the likes of West Ham, Leicester City and Southampton.
Can Newcastle survive without Willock?
Yes
No
With that now missing, naturally, Newcastle are a weaker outfit, a message Howey was keen to get across.
“At the moment, Newcastle are a lot weaker than what they were at the end of the season because they’ve lost Joe Willock,” Howey said in an exclusive interview with TIF.
“Joe Willock’s gone back and he was an integral part of the team with his goals and his performances. He’s gone and they haven’t even replaced him yet [or brought him back].”
That kind of goalscoring ability, especially from midfield, is something Newcastle are going to struggle to find.
Fortunately, Willock coming back and bringing that with him does not look completely out of the window.
Manager Steve Bruce recently confirmed that he is still trying to bring the English youngster back to St. James Park and is waiting for both Arsenal and the player to make a decision.