Newcastle United could potentially be tempted to make a quickfire move for Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock having earned a £5million boost to their transfer funds.
Former Magpies striker Adam Armstrong completed a £15million switch to Premier League rivals Southampton on Tuesday evening, the Saints sealing his services from Championship outfit Blackburn Rovers as a replacement for Danny Ings.
Whilst that does not seem strictly relevant to either Newcastle or Arsenal at first glance, the Magpies have actually been handed a considerable amount with the completion of the deal.
As first reported by our sister title Chronicle Live, Newcastle wrote a 40% sell-on clause into the deal that initially took Armstrong to Ewood Park in the summer of 2018, that figure being applied to the profit that Lancashire outfit earned on the English forward.
Having initially paid £1.7million for the then 21-year-old’s services, Rovers have earned just under £14million, meaning that £5.32million is currently on its way to St James' Park.
That figure could certainly have a knock-on effect for Arsenal's transfer business this summer, with Steve Bruce's men continuing to be linked with a swoop for Joe Willock.
As of now, a deal is yet to be concluded but football.london understands that an agreement has been reached on the terms of his permanent move to the North East.
With added funds from Armstrong’s sale, Newcastle could yet sign off the move sooner rather than later, thus handing Arsenal a considerable £25million to their own transfer budget this summer.
This knock-on effect could then see Arsenal up their offer for Leicester City’s James Maddison. football.london understands that there is still some distance between the two clubs over the midfielder’s current valuation with the Foxes preferring a straight cash bid rather than a player-plus-cash deal.
