Newcastle United midfielder Joe Willock has attracted interest from Crystal Palace.
There is some speculation surrounding Willock’s future at St James’ Park following another frustrating campaign.
Having been a regular in Eddie Howe’s team during the 2022-23 Champions League qualification campaign, the 25-year-old has started just 16 matches in the past two seasons.
Willock’s 2023-24 campaign was blighted by an Achilles injury and although he managed to overcome the issue last season, the form of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton meant he was largely restricted to substitute appearances.
He last scored a Premier League goal in a 4-1 defeat to former club Arsenal in February 2024, while his three goals last term came in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup against Nottingham Forest and Birmingham City, respectively.
With Willock’s game time and impact both fading of late, Newcastle could be open to offers. As per Mail Online, Crystal Palace are among the clubs keen on a potential deal.
Joe Willock spotted at Crystal Palace academy amid transfer links
And to add some fuel to the Palace speculation, Willock took to Instagram over the weekend to share a short video from the South London club’s academy complex in Beckenham. The midfielder tagged Crystal Palace and W3 Sport in the post.
Joe Willock at the Crystal Palace academy this past week.placeholder image
Joe Willock at the Crystal Palace academy this past week. | Instagram/Joe Willock
W3 Sport is an app designed for young footballers and co-founded by Willock alongside his brothers Chris and Matty. Willock was promoting the app at Palace with young players in action on the indoor training pitch, which explains he was there for business reasons rather than anything transfer-related.
Eddie Howe on Joe Willock
Speaking in May when Willock came into the starting XI in place of the injured Joelinton, Howe said: “We still have a lot of faith in Joe. I think he is a light-for-light replacement really, he does a lot of his best work on the left-hand side of the pitch, as Joelinton does.
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“He's got goalscoring instincts, he's a very attack-minded player, very quick and athletic, a really good ball carrier. And let's not forget, Joe's had some important contributions this season, most notably really in the Carabao Cup, where he scored some big goals for us.
“But also my mind goes back to the Arsenal game at the Emirates, where I thought he was excellent that day. So no doubting his quality. Yes, he probably needs to feel that run of games to be at his very best. Hopefully he can show that.”
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