There has been a lot of talk about Joe Willock's Newcastle United future this summer, to the point where a move to Besiktas was seemingly agreed at this point last week.
But the 27-year-old midfielder's performance against Liverpool at the weekend, paired with Matthias Jaissle's comments about wanting to keep Willock at the club, have shrouded that £20m deal in a cloud of doubt with just a week left of the transfer window.
For many, that will come as somewhat of a concern, especially given Willock has just one year remaining on his contract and has both been unable to stay fit and struggled when he has played minutes over the last couple of seasons.
But there is an opposing opinion, one which I myself hold, that suggests keeping WIllock at the club may actually make a lot of sense for the upcoming season and that he could actually be an integral part of Jaissle's squad if he can stay fit.
Joe Willock under Eddie Howe
To fully understand why there may be strong reasoning for retaining Willock's services, we must look back to his time as an Eddie Howe player.
Whilst it is easy to look at his injury record and his absence from the squad over the past few years and forget about Willock at the peak of his powers, we must revisit that to truly understand what he can bring to the table.
It was the 22/23 season which really saw the Englishman shine. A Premier League season which consisted of 35 Premier League appearances with 32 of those starting, a figure marking the most in his entire career.
During that time he was most commonly deployed in a rather interesting left hand side combination with Joelinton, where each rotated into wide or central areas respectively depending on the phase of play.
But it isn't the role he was deployed in which is the most intriguing when looking at his possible current role in the Newcastle side. It is instead the playstyle.
That season was the prime era of Howe-ball on Tyneside. Newcastle finished 4th, played at a relentless intensity in almost every fixture and utilised strong runners, quick counters and a really physical tactical profile.
It is no coincidence that that season is where Willock excelled. He was direct, a powerful runner through the thirds and often contributed to lightning quick breaks, managing to get himself 6 assists and 3 goals (but with an XG of 7.23 for the season).
And that right there is exactly where Matthias Jaissle comes in and where his desire to hold onto Willock becomes evidently rooted in reason.
What Joe Willock could be under Matthias Jaissle
Under Jaissle the system is slightly different in terms of the formation and structure, but the foundational ideologies are all but the same.
High intensity, high pressure, playing on turnovers and transition. I mean, just take one look at Willock's goal at the weekend, or Anthony Elanga's for that matter, and you'll get the idea.
So, and you may be putting two and two together now, if Willock's best year came in a system which rewarded breaks, powerful running and transitional gaps... and the current system resembles that closely... we may well be in line to see that version of the former Arsenal man reappear in a BIG way.
The other positive is that, in a squad which has lost a lot of talent and replaced it with younger players, Willock understands what it is like to be at the club and has that little bit of extra experience that could be crucial. Add to that his versatility of being able to play out wide and slot into a variety of systems depending on the scenario, and it begins to feel like a no brainer to keep him around.
In an article by Craig Hope, it was suggested that if Jaissle can keep his hands on Willock, then the 27-year-old will become one of his two main number 10 options alongside Jacob Ramsey, with Yoane Wissa stepping into the centre forward position amid the absence of Will Osula during his current period of injury.
The risk with keeping Willock
The idea of Willock staying at the club of course doesn't come without risk. With his contract running out at the end of the season, the Magpies would be almost certainly sacrificing a large portion of the proposed £20m sum they'd be able to get this summer from Besiktas.
But let's say for arguments sake that keeping Willock results in a new contract which adds a couple of years to his stay. Well, if that is the case, the concern becomes being able to keep him fit off the back of some massively injury hit seasons which ruined any momentum he had in that 22/23 season.
If Willock is retained and he goes on to have another season where he is often absent and isn't able to contribute to the cause in the way the squad needs, then come next summer, it may end up looking like an absurd decision to not sell him for the quoted price.
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