BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks has offered his praise to Newcastle United midfielder Joe Willock following his recent display in the Premier League.
Having put in an incredible effort for Newcastle whilst on loan last season with an impressive run of goals that helped secure their survival, things weren’t as pleasant for Willock this time around after his move became permanent this past summer.
He failed to score a single goal all season until bagging an equaliser in their draw with West Ham United last week, and he made it two in two by grabbing the second in their 2-0 win over Brentford this past weekend to help push the Magpies four points clear of the drop in the Premier League.
He managed to make two key passes against the Bees, as well as achieving an impressive pass completion percentage of 93 (as per SofaScore).
Writing in his Team of the Week column, Willock was included in a side that also featured two other Newcastle players in the form of Fabian Schar and fellow goalscorer Joelinton. Crooks praised the 22-year-old not only for his performance on the day, but the way he’s been able to bounce back after a difficult start to life permanently at St. James’ Park.
He said: “Since this young man’s arrival at St. James’ Park from Emirates Stadium, he’s found the going rather tough. Injuries and sickness have largely interrupted his ability to get into any consistent form at Newcastle. Nevertheless, we’ve seen glimpses of what he can do, and he certainly has an eye for goal.
“Against Brentford, he showed that he also has the eye for the spectacular. His finish was superb, while his performances get better with each game. [Eddie] Howe said after his performance against West Ham when he scored the equaliser, that this was a player who with the right development could go a long way. I think he’s right.”
TIF Thoughts on Garth Crooks’ comments about Joe Willock at Newcastle United…
Has Willock been worth the money?
Yes!
No!
It just goes to show that you should never give up on a player just because they are going through a bad run of form.
Willock showed last season what he was capable of, but after his drop in form this term, and especially with the purchase of someone like Bruno Guimarães, it could have been very easy for Newcastle boss Eddie Howe to drop him from the side and put their new signing in his place, but it’s a credit to Howe that he stuck with him through that bad patch.
And his talk about Willock going to the top could very well come true if Newcastle are able to carry on the form that they’ve shown in recent weeks and carry it on into next season, when you’d hope that given their ambitions, they’ll be doing their best to fight nearer the top of the table rather than the bottom.
The only question is whether Willock will still be a part of that, or if they’ll be looking to bring someone in to replace him long-term.
In other news: ‘Terrific’ – John Gibson buzzing over ‘massive plus’ for Newcastle