Newcastle make £17.4m Joe Willock demand after player's telling team photo move
· Lee Ryder · 2026-08-11 · nguồn gốc
Newcastle United midfielder Joe Willock is facing D-Day at St James' Park with new boss Matthias Jaissle making final calls on his squad for the 2026/27 season.
The midfielder has been subject of a series of bids from Turkish giants Besiktas with a £10m offer for his services snubbed by Newcastle earlier this month.
That bid was deemed paltry by Newcastle are understood to have made it clear they want £17.4 million for his services - a price now being discussed by the Press in Turkey. Willock's agent has been in Turkey and is believed to have agreed personal terms for his client who would be Arsenal's title winning hero Leandro Trossard.
Besiktas were also keen to land departing Liverpool star Mo Salah who has joined rivals Trabzonspor, with this deemed an exciting time for the Turkish Super Lig.
Willock has featured in all four of Newcastle's pre-season games and would be in contention to face Liverpool based on fitness.
But there is a question mark over his head at St James' Park at the moment and in Jaissle's first game in charge he stepped out of a team photograph just as the Magpies were beckoned by photographers for a picture holding the Trofeu Taronja after their 2-1 win in Valencia on Saturday night.
United have just splashed out £23m on Ajax youngster Sean Steur and Aladji Bamba from Monaco for £35.5m. With Joelinton looking like he will stay on Tyneside, and Jacob Ramsey starting in centre midfield against Valencia, Willock may face a battle to retain his place.
Lewis Miley is expected to be fit for the Liverpool game with the youngster being prepped for a big campaign by the club's performance staff. It means Willock could start the season as sixth choice midfielder.
Willock essentially shut down talk that he will be leaving Newcastle this summer at the end of last season - by referencing his plans to stay with the Magpies FOUR times in an interview with the club's TV channel.
Willock said then: "People are going to the World Cup, and some people are having a break. From there, have a break but full focus on coming back next season and coming back in the best possible way and look to next season."
However, Newcastle must consider every cash bid for Willock given he is now heading into the final year of his contract and has less than 12 months to go of his existing deal.
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