(Credit: Imago)

Evan Shaw

Mon 18 May 2026 12:30, UK

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Joe Willock is surely entering his final weeks as a Newcastle United player as we head towards the upcoming summer transfer window.

The midfielder has fallen to the fringes of Eddie Howe’s squad in 2025-26, as he has started just nine Premier League games since the start of the season.

The 26-year-old has had to bide his time and wait for opportunities to impress in cameo roles, and he chipped in with an assist for Will Osula in Newcastle’s 3-1 win over West Ham on Sunday.

Willock exchanged a neat one-two with the Dane to earn just his second goal involvement of the league campaign, but his efforts were then overshadowed by a late incident involving him and Bruno Guimaraes.

The pair began exchanging angry words on the pitch in the latter stages of Newcastle’s win over West Ham, and it could have huge consequences in terms of Willock’s future in the North East.

Joe Willock seals his own exit after Premier League interest

Football Insider revealed back in January that Willock could push to leave Newcastle during the winter window, amid strong interest from both Leeds United and Crystal Palace.

No move came to fruition for him on that occasion, but it is almost certain to be a different story for him when the summer window opens up.

Willock is set to enter the final year of his contract in the coming months, and it surely makes sense for Newcastle to accept any offers for him that come their way.

The feeling that his exit is near has only been reinforced by his bust-up with Guimaraes, which appeared to be over Willock not passing the ball to the captain inside the box.

The skipper holds plenty of weight on Tyneside after the impact that he has made in recent years, and if issues between the pair have been consistent behind the scenes, then Howe will surely opt to lose Willock rather than Guimaraes.

With that in mind, he has surely just sealed his own fate by falling out with Guimaraes, when he could have just bit his tongue and swallowed the skipper’s criticism.

Willock has completely lost the faith of Newcastle fans

Newcastle fans exploded at Willock on social media in the aftermath of the game, as they were clearly taking Guimaraes’ side in the argument.

The supporters have become increasingly frustrated with the former’s lack of productivity when he has been on the pitch this season, and his latest actions have only compounded the animosity towards him.

Willock appears to have completely lost the faith of those in the stands, and that is often a hugely difficult situation for a player to recover from.

That provides yet another reason why he should be sold this summer, as the club will need unity in order to push back towards the European places in 2026-27.