Newcastle United’s £25m star has ‘come on leaps and bounds’ under Eddie Howe following award win

The 23-year-old midfielder scored his first and second goals of the season as Newcastle picked up impressive wins at Southampton and at home to Chelsea to secure third place in the Premier League table after 15 games.

A year ago, The Magpies were winless and sat deep in relegation trouble with Willock and his team-mates struggling with their form. But under the management of head coach Eddie Howe, boosted by several solid signings, United have surged up the Premier League table and have been one of the division’s in form teams in 2022.

And Willock has helped exemplify Howe’s ‘intensity is our identity’ approach in matches with his high energy approach throughout games.

"It has shown far we've come in games to dig deep and win games,” Willock told The Gazette. "I am happy to score and help the team.

"I feel like the manager has a non-negotiable approach about the work we do from the outset and he shows that every day in training and in games that we have to meet that requirement.

"We're doing it in games and long may it continue."

Newcastle are enjoying their best start to a Premier League season this century with 30 points from their opening 15 games. But with 23 games still left to play, Willock isn’t getting carried away.

“Of course you have to take confidence from our position in the table but it's still early on and we're buying into the process more than looking at the table,” he added. “We're happy that we are third but we’re always just looking ahead to the next game.”

Newcastle haven’t played a game of competitive football since Willock scored the winner against Chelsea almost three weeks ago. They won't return to competitive action until December 21 when they host AFC Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup fourth round (7:45pm kick-off).

"I feel the focus should be where the club are going in the future,” Willock continued. “We can go where we want to if we buy into the process that the manager has set out for us.

"We're all looking forward to the future but at the present moment we are doing well and want to continue doing well."

With two goals in his last two games, talk of Willock replicating his seven match scoring streak at the back end of the 2020-21 season may seem a little premature, but it’s still in the back of the player’s mind.

That run saw Willock equal Alan Shearer’s Premier League record of scoring in seven consecutive games for Newcastle. He also set league records for becoming the youngest player and first midfielder to score in seven consecutive matches.

Still, Willock believes he has improved significantly as a player since that run.

"Of course I would love another run like that - to help the team more than anything,” he admitted. "It would be amazing to do it again.

"But I honestly feel like I've come on leaps and bounds since then as a player. It is about my whole performance these days, not only the goals.

"I'm happy to be scoring again and hopefully it can continue."