We have already learned a lot about Newcastle United under Matthias Jaissle. After a draw against Liverpool at the weekend, the German manager now has his first win in English football under his belt.
It came against an in-form West Bromwich Albion team in the second round of the League Cup. The visitors gave Newcastle United a run for their money, but ultimately, the Magpies had just too much quality.
Harvey Barnes scored a brace while summer signing Bazoumana Toure got his first goal for Newcastle United. And some players are clearly emerging as vital parts of Jaissle’s plans, even this early in the season.
That includes one player who was widely expected to leave. But now, the club might need to make a U-turn on those plans and try to keep him.
Newcastle United transfer U-turn could happen due to Matthias Jaissle
According to Chris Waugh of The Athletic, Joe Willock is in favour and looks revitalised. The player seems to have deferred what had appeared an inevitable exit for at least a window.
For months, it was widely expected that Willock would leave this summer. Besiktas are still believed to be keen on the Newcastle United midfielder. But it does look like he features in Jaissle’s plans for the time being.
Willock scored a goal against Liverpool in the opening game of Newcastle United’s Premier League campaign. He followed that up with a start against West Bromwich Albion in the League Cup last night.
So, this does not look like a player who will struggle to get game time under Jaissle. At the very least, he is expected to be a consistent role player. Is that someone the Magpies can afford to let go?
Why Newcastle should keep Willock
It is evident that Newcastle United have already lost a lot of quality and experience in the middle of the park this summer. Bruno Guimaraes joined Arsenal. Sandro Tonali moved to their North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
In return, the club signed Sean Steur and Aladji Bamba. Those two had played a combined 50 senior games of football, 25 each, before joining Newcastle United.
More recently, Newcastle United have announced the signing of Nico Gonzalez from Manchester City. He is the kind of player who looks ready to start from day one. But he is yet to prove himself as a star in the Premier League.
So, letting Willock leave as well does not seem ideal at this point in time. He is contributing to the team and keeping him around should help with this transition.
