Newcastle United star open to move to Europa League club amid £17m bid talk
The latest transfer talk from Newcastle United as the Magpies await an offer for midfielder Joe Willock.
Newcastle United midfielder Joe Willock has reportedly reacted positively towards a potential move to Turkish giants Besiktas.
The former Arsenal star is now in the final 12 months of his current contract at St James' Park after scoring 19 goals and providing 11 assists in 182 appearances during his five-year stay on Tyneside. Willock struggled to find a regular place in Eddie Howe’s starting eleven throughout last season as just 24 of his 39 appearances in all competitions came from the bench during what could be his final season as a Magpie.
Willock was linked with moves to Premier League rivals Crystal Palace and Fulham over the last 12 months but neither club made an offer to take the 26-year-old back to London as he saw out an underwhelming season in black and white. However, this summer has been dominated by talk over a potential move to Besiktas as Vincenzo Italiano prepares his side to compete alongside the likes of AC Milan and Juventus in this season’s Europa League.
Reports in Turkey over the last fortnight have suggested Newcastle have rejected a bid from Besiktas - but one journalist has now suggested an offer of around €20m (approximately €17m) will ‘seal the deal’ and see the Magpies midfielder start the new season playing alongside the likes of Leandro Trossard and Wilfried Ndidi with the Super Lig club.
Turkish journalist Yağiz Sabuncuoğlu said: "In our teams generally, it's not so much a money problem as a limit problem. These deviations lead to limit-related issues. I don't think there's a problem with hot money at Beşiktas. Fenerbahçe doesn't have a money problem either; the issue is with the limits. The name Joe Willock is one we've been talking about since June. I've said it before, Joe Willock is already very warmly inclined toward Beşiktas. If he reaches the 20 million level, Beşiktas will seal the deal for Joe Willock. Conor Gallagher is on the list too, but the primary target is Joe Willock."