Arsenal to Benefit from Joe Willock's Transfer to Besiktas
Arsenal’s summer business may be about to receive an unexpected helping hand from an old academy graduate.
Joe Willock, once the fresh-faced midfielder bursting through at the Emirates, is closing in on a permanent move from Newcastle United to Besiktas in a deal understood to be worth around £17.4million. Buried in the paperwork from his 2021 switch to Tyneside sits a sell-on clause that now looks ready to reward Arsenal’s foresight.
The exact percentage remains under wraps, but the principle is clear: every pound Newcastle bank from Besiktas, a slice flows back to north London.
From Emirates prospect to St James’ mainstay
Willock left Arsenal three years ago in a £25m transfer after a blistering loan spell at St James’ Park, where his late surges from midfield and eye for goal transformed him from fringe prospect to priority signing for Newcastle.
He has since become a familiar figure in black and white. Across five seasons in the North East, Willock has made 168 appearances and scored 11 goals, a steady presence in a side that has shifted from relegation battles to European ambitions.
Now, with just 12 months left on his contract, Newcastle are ready to cash in. A £10m offer earlier in the summer was turned away; Besiktas have returned with a stronger bid and, crucially, progress off the pitch.
ChronicleLive report that Willock’s agent has already travelled to Turkey, with personal terms allegedly agreed. The structure of the deal still needs finalising between the clubs, but the direction of travel is clear. Newcastle want to sell. Besiktas want their man. Arsenal wait for the bank notification.
A long Arsenal thread
For Arsenal, this is more than a convenient windfall. It is the continuation of a story that started when Willock was a teenager in their academy.
He broke into the first team in 2017 and announced himself in the Premier League in style, scoring on his league debut against – fittingly – Newcastle in April 2018. Across four seasons in red and white, he made 78 appearances and scored 11 goals, often offering flashes of the box-crashing midfielder Arsenal fans hoped he would become.
When the time came to move him on, Arsenal did not just take the £25m and walk away. They protected their future with a sell-on clause that now looks shrewd business.
Mikel Arteta’s current squad bears little resemblance to the one Willock left behind, but the club’s need to squeeze value from every asset has not changed. This clause is exactly that: value extracted from a past decision, feeding into the next phase of the project.
Timely boost for a title defence
The timing could hardly be better for Arsenal. Preparing for a Premier League title defence, they have already been active in the market, bringing in Christos Tzolis, Piero Hincapie, Illan Meslier and Bruno Guimaraes to deepen and sharpen a squad that pushed to the summit last season.
Yet there is still a gap they want to fill. Arsenal are on the hunt for a new left-winger, a position that has already seen two high-profile targets drift away.
Morgan Rogers, strongly linked with a move to the Emirates, instead ended up at Chelsea. Vinicius Junior, the kind of marquee name who would have electrified north London, committed his future to Real Madrid with new terms. Two doors closed, but the search continues.
Any extra funds from Willock’s move will not transform Arsenal’s budget on their own, but they might tilt a negotiation, bridge a gap in valuation, or accelerate talks for the right wide forward. At this level, those margins matter.
A few years ago, Joe Willock was Arsenal’s future. Now, from a distance, he might help shape it again – not with a late run into the box, but with a line in a contract that could yet influence who pulls on the shirt on the left flank when the title defence begins.
