Joe Willock showed what he can bring to Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United side for the first time in the 1-1 draw with West Ham on Saturday.
He has largely struggled to put his stamp on the team this season following his £25m summer move from Arsenal but he was the stand-out performer at the London Stadium.
His clever flick on the stroke of half-time ensured the Magpies would extend their unbeaten run to six Premier League games.
The goal capped his best performance of the campaign so far, reminiscent of what he showed during his loan spell at the back end of last season.
It was his ninth goal in a Newcastle shirt but just his first since his move was made permanent in the summer transfer window.
It is a testament to the character of Willock who has clearly been working hard on his game since Howe replaced Steve Bruce. The former Gunners midfielder explained his feeling when the ball crossed the goal line in his interview after the match.
He told BT Sport: “It’s been a long time coming. I’m happy to score and help the team. That’s how football is – it never goes how you want it to go.
"I’ve tried to stick to my task and take on board what the manager wanted me to do.”
He spearheaded our player ratings from the match with a nine and his performance also caught the eye of a broader audience with Harry Redknapp singling the 22-year-old for individual praise.
He selected Willock alongside Hakim Ziyech, Ruben Neves and Emile Smith-Rowe in the midfield of his Team of the Week for BetVictor.
He explained the decision to include the Newcastle youngster by saying: “Newcastle are looking much better now. It was Joe Willock that caught my eye against West Ham though.
“His late runs from midfield caused all sorts of problems and he was brilliant when taking his goal on the stroke of half-time.”
After properly seeing for the first time what Willock can bring to the midfield at St James’ Park, Howe will be desperate for performances like that to continue.
Next to both Jonjo Shelvey and Joelinton, Newcastle have looked far more assured in the middle of the park in the last few weeks and are continuing to keep Bruno Guimaraes out of the starting XI.
Howe is clearly keen to avoid making changes to the winning formula and the January signing can’t have too many complaints as the players currently ahead of him in the pecking order continue to justify their selections.
