Arsenal Set for Cash Boost as Joe Willock Nears Besiktas Move
Arsenal’s summer business may be about to receive an unlikely helping hand from a familiar face in black and white stripes.
A smart clause inserted into Joe Willock’s sale to Newcastle United in 2021 is poised to pay out, with the midfielder closing in on a move to Besiktas worth around £17.4million.
A clause that keeps on giving
When Arsenal sold Willock three years ago, the headline figure was clear enough: £25m to take the academy graduate permanently to St. James’ Park after a prolific loan spell. Less visible was the sell-on clause quietly agreed with Newcastle, a detail that now looks increasingly significant.
Football.london reports that Arsenal did secure a sell-on percentage as part of that deal, though the exact figure remains undisclosed. Whatever the cut, any slice of £17.4m represents welcome, largely unexpected income for a club still fine-tuning their squad ahead of another title push.
Newcastle have already turned down a £10m offer for Willock earlier in the window. Besiktas have come back stronger, and this time the numbers appear to work for all parties.
Willock’s Newcastle chapter nearing its end
Willock, now 26, has entered the final 12 months of his contract in the North East. That ticking clock has sharpened Newcastle’s stance: cash in now or risk losing him for nothing next year.
ChronicleLive reports that his agent has been in Turkey to thrash out a deal with Besiktas, with personal terms understood to be agreed. The move would draw a line under a five-year spell on Tyneside in which Willock became a key squad figure, even if he never quite recaptured the explosive form of his initial loan.
He has made 168 appearances for Newcastle, scoring 11 goals. Those numbers don’t fully convey his impact during that first half-season, when he went on a remarkable scoring run and effectively forced Newcastle’s hand in the market. But they do underline how settled he became in the Premier League before this potential switch to the Turkish Super Lig.
From Arsenal prospect to unexpected benefactor
For Arsenal, Willock’s story has come full circle.
He broke into the first team in 2017 and announced himself in style, scoring on his Premier League debut against Newcastle in April 2018. Across four seasons in north London, he played 78 times and scored 11 goals, a versatile midfielder trusted in multiple roles but never quite nailed down as a guaranteed starter under Mikel Arteta.
His sale helped fund the early stages of Arsenal’s rebuild. Now, three years on, that same deal could quietly underwrite the next phase.
Arteta’s side have already moved decisively this summer, bringing in Christos Tzolis, Piero Hincapie, Illan Meslier and Bruno Guimaraes as they prepare to defend their Premier League crown. The margins at the top are thin; every extra pound helps.
Fuel for the next attacking move
Arsenal still want a left-winger. That search has not been straightforward.
They have been linked with Morgan Rogers, only to see Chelsea step in and secure the England international. Any faint hope of prising Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid vanished once the Brazilian agreed fresh terms at the Bernabeu.
So the market narrows, the options become more complex, and the need for extra flexibility grows. That is where Willock’s move matters. Arsenal are not relying on this money, but it strengthens their hand at a crucial moment in the window.
A player who once represented the club’s future may now, indirectly, shape its present. The question is simple: how aggressively will Arsenal choose to spend the windfall Joe Willock is about to send back home?
