Joe Willock left Arsenal for Newcastle United last week and the Englishman is now prepared to help his new side sign Eddie Nketiah.
The Magpies signed Willock for £25 million six days ago. (Sky Sports) That money is a huge boost for Arsenal, but we’re not done just yet. We need to sell a number of other players as well, including Nketiah, who has less than a year left on his contract.
Willock and Nketiah grew up together at Hale End. The two youngsters have known each other for years, and with the latter having no future at the Emirates, his good pal has claimed that he’d be happy to help Newcastle sign him this summer.
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Joe Willock: I’ll help Newcastle sign Arsenal striker Nketiah
In an interview with BBC Newcastle, Willock was asked to help his new side sign Arsenal boys Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson. The Englishman, who knows both players very well, agreed to put in a good word.
He said: “I don’t know, I don’t know their situation. Eddie is one of my best friends, so I’ll definitely put in a good word!”
The Insider’s View:
Arsenal would love nothing more than to cash in on Nketiah this summer. The Englishman, labelled as ‘incredible’ by Arteta, has entered the final year of his contract, and he has already refused to sign an extension. (The Athletic)
The Gunners put him on the market weeks ago, but Nketiah suffered an injury that has sidelined him until after the end of the transfer window. That is a huge blow for Arsenal, whose chances of selling him now are almost non-existent.
Nketiah will likely stay at Arsenal beyond the end of this summer’s transfer window, but it would be a shock to see him get any minutes in the Premier League with Aubameyang, Lacazette, Martinelli and even perhaps Balogun ahead of him.
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If nothing happens in the next two weeks, the best-case scenario for Arsenal would be to convince him to sign a new deal. Else, we’ll have to take what we can get and sell him in January, but if he rejects that offer as well, we’ll be left with no choice but to release him when his contract expires next year.
