One Newcastle United midfielder has serious interest from elsewhere ahead of the January transfer window.
Newcastle United are facing a key decision over the future of in-form midfielder Joe Willock as he rapidly approaches the final six months of his current Magpies deal.
The former Arsenal academy product looked set to leave St James Park during the summer transfer window with a number of clubs at home and abroad said to be keen on securing his services. However, goals in Premier League games against Liverpool and Hull City and a decisive strike in a Carabao Cup win at Millwall have handed a welcome boost to United head coach Matthias Jaissle and have thrust Willock into a more prominent role in recent games.
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The 27-year-old will enter the final months of his contract during the January transfer window and that means he will be able to discuss a pre-contract agreement with a club outside of England before making a free transfer switch next summer. Turkish giants Besiktas have been consistently linked with a move for the midfielder in recent months and club president Serdal Adali has reiterated his desire to lure the midfielder to the Tüpras Stadium by stating his will discuss a possible agreement with Newcastle when the January transfer window opens for business.
As per Turkish Football, the Besiktas supremo said: “I remain insistent on Willock. I will go and speak with Newcastle again during the mid-season window. If it works out, he is the target.”
That comes just a week after Adali told TRT Spor: "Opportunities to sign star players came our way, but we didn’t even consider them. We stuck to our program. We executed 90% of the transfer list we had drawn up. We didn’t receive any response from the clubs we were in talks with until the World Cup ended.
“He is a player the coach really wants. I am persistent regarding Willock. The coach hasn’t complained that we failed to sign him. I will go and hold talks again during the mid-season break. If it happens, it happens. If not, the coach hasn’t made a specific demand to sign anyone else right now."
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