Besiktas president Serdal Adali has said he will try to revive the club’s move for Newcastle United midfielder Joe Willock during the January transfer window.

The Turkish giants pushed hard to recruit the former Arsenal player before the start of the season, and Adali claims a second attempt is being lined up:

“Joe Willock was the player the coach wanted but whom we missed out on. His contract expires at the end of the season. He can sign during the mid-season break. They had asked for £20m. We can sign him in January—and I will sign him.”

Adali revealed the lengths that Besiktas went to in order to secure the midfielder’s signature:

“From day one, it was “Willock, Willock”. No one knows this, but I brought Willock’s entire extended family to Istanbul.”

“They picked out a house, and they held video calls with coach [Vincenzo] Italiano and [sporting director] Onder [Ozen] at least ten times. Furthermore, we visited the player in person twice.”

Newcastle United now want to keep the midfielder

Willock looked to be on his way out of St James’ Park under previous manager Eddie Howe, but the arrival of Matthias Jaissle has drastically altered his fortunes.

The German is said to be the one who requested that the 27-year-old remain at the club, and there are now reports suggesting that Willock could even sign a contract extension.

Will Willock stay?

A lot may hinge on the player keeping his place in the starting eleven. Jaissle has already named him in the lineup for 5 of the first 7 games, and the midfielder has justified his inclusion by finding the back of the net 3 times.

However, there is fierce competition for places, with Nico Gonzalez, Lewis Miley, Joelinton, Jacob Ramsey, Sean Steur and Aladji Bamba also vying for starts.

If Willock does manage to maintain his strong start to the campaign, there is a decent chance that he will be handed a new deal, keeping him out of the clutches of Besiktas in the process.

Want more news on Newcastle? Add Newcastle United News as a preferred source on Google