Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie was blown away by the performance of Joe Willock on Tuesday night as they earned a huge three points.
The victory on Tyneside in Frank Lampard’s first Premier League game in charge of Everton saw the Toon climb out of the bottom three with results elsewhere going their way.
Who was better vs Everton?
Joe Willock
Allan Saint-Maximin
Goals on the night from Kieran Trippier and Ryan Fraser helped the Magpies over the line as Allan Saint-Maximin was crowned Man of the Match by BT Sports.
However, the performance of Willock impressed Downie the most after his 90 minutes in front of the home crowd before making way for the new signing, Bruno Guimaraes.
“Joe Willock has had a tough season, but he was arguably the best player on the pitch tonight,” said Downie on Twitter after the game.
And it has been a difficult campaign to date for the 22-year-old who is still in search of his first goal or assists as a permanent Newcastle player – now 19 games in (via Transfermarkt).
This comes after Willock’s loan spell on Tyneside for the second half of last season saw the midfielder score seven goals in his final seven league games.
TIF Thoughts on Willock’s display…
The coming weeks could be huge for the £19.8m-rated Willock and his spot in Eddie Howe’s starting XI now the Tyneside club have spent big in January on the signing of Bruno Guimaraes.
Willock’s form this season could suggest he would be the first midfielder to lose his spot for the new Brazilian ace, however, has the game against Everton a glimmer of hope?
It will be an interesting couple of days ahead for the 22-year-old who seemingly made way in the dying minutes of the game as a result of a potential knock picked up against the Toffees.
In other news: ‘I can’t accept that’ – BBC pundit furious over big Newcastle vs Everton incident