Joe Willock
English footballer (born 1999)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph George Willock (born 20 August 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Newcastle United.
|
Willock playing for Arsenal in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph George Willock[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 20 August 1999[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Waltham Forest, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.79 m)[3] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Newcastle United | ||
| Number | 28 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2014–2017 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2021 | Arsenal | 40 | (1) |
| 2021 | → Newcastle United (loan) | 14 | (8) |
| 2021– | Newcastle United | 124 | (6) |
| International career | |||
| 2014 | England U16 | 2 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | England U19 | 6 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | England U20 | 7 | (4) |
| 2019–2020 | England U21 | 4 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:53, 14 March 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Arsenal
A youth product of Arsenal, Willock joined Arsenal at age four-and-a-half, having been allowed to play alongside his older brothers.[4] He made his first-team debut for the club on 20 September 2017 in the EFL Cup against Doncaster Rovers.[5]
Willock made his Premier League debut against Newcastle United on 15 April 2018.[6] He scored his first senior goal on 29 November 2018 in a 3–0 UEFA Europa League victory away at Vorskla Poltava.[7] He then scored his first brace in a 3–0 FA Cup victory away at Blackpool on 5 January 2019.[8]
On 12 September 2019, it was announced that Willock had signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal.[9][10] On 19 September 2019, he played as Arsenal won 3–0 against Eintracht Frankfurt by scoring a deflected effort to open the scoring in the opening matchday of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.[11] Willock scored his first goal at the Emirates Stadium on 24 September 2019 after tapping-in Arsenal's third goal in a 5–0 EFL Cup win over Nottingham Forest, set-up by Héctor Bellerín.[12] On 25 June 2020, he scored his first Premier League goal in a 2–0 win over Southampton.[13]
Newcastle United
On 1 February 2021, Willock joined Newcastle United on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.[14] On 6 February, Willock scored in the 16th minute on his debut in a 3–2 win over Southampton.[15] After scoring in three consecutive substitute appearances against Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Liverpool,[16][17][18] Willock was rewarded with a start against Leicester City, where he was once again on target, scoring the opening goal in a 4–2 win.[19] On 14 May, Willock scored in a 4–3 defeat against Manchester City.[20] On 19 May, he scored in his sixth consecutive league game, becoming the youngest player in Premier League history to do so at the age of 21 years and 272 days, a record previously held by Romelu Lukaku.[21] This was surpassed by Rasmus Højlund on 18 February 2024.[22] Four days later, on the final day of the Premier League season, he scored again to equal the club record of consecutive games scored in, set by Alan Shearer.[23]
On 13 August 2021, Newcastle confirmed the signing of Willock on a six-year contract.[24] The fee was reported to be £25 million.[25] On 19 February 2022, Willock scored his first goal since signing permanently for the club, in a 1–1 draw against West Ham United.[26] The following week, he scored Newcastle's second goal in a 2–0 win over Brentford.[27]
On 16 March 2025, Willock came off the bench to appear in the 2025 EFL Cup final and become part of the first Newcastle United team to win a major domestic honour in 70 years.[28] Willock had scored the team's only goal against Nottingham Forest in the second round of the tournament to help the club to the final.[29] On 28 January 2026, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 1–1 away draw with Paris Saint-Germain.[30]
International career
Willock scored for the England under-16 team against Scotland in the 2014 Victory Shield.[31] He also represented the England under-19 team but was one of a number of players withdrawn from selection for the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship by their club.[32]
Willock represented the England under-20 team in the 2018–19 Under 20 Elite League and scored the winning goals in games against Italy[33] and Germany.[34] Willock was a member of an England Under-20 side at the 2019 Toulon Tournament and scored in group stage defeats against Portugal[35] and Chile.[36]
On 30 August 2019, Willock was included in the England under-21 squad for the first time[37] but had to withdraw due to injury.[38] He eventually made his U21 debut on 11 October 2019 during a 2–2 draw with Slovenia in Maribor.[39]
Personal life
Willock was born in Walthamstow [40] which is located in Waltham Forest, Greater London.[41] His brothers, Chris and Matty, are also footballers. All three brothers shared a pitch when Manchester United played a reserve game against Arsenal in May 2017.[42] He is of Montserratian descent.[43]
Career statistics
- As of match played 14 March 2026
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal | 2017–18[44] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 2018–19[45] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 1 | — | 6 | 3 | ||
| 2019–20[46] | Premier League | 29 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8[a] | 2 | — | 44 | 5 | ||
| 2020–21[47] | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5[a] | 3 | 1[b] | 0 | 17 | 3 | |
| Total | 40 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 78 | 11 | ||
| Arsenal U21 | 2018–19[45] | — | — | — | — | 2[c] | 3 | 2 | 3 | |||||
| Newcastle United (loan) | 2020–21[47] | Premier League | 14 | 8 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 8 | ||||
| Newcastle United | 2021–22[48] | Premier League | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23[49] | Premier League | 35 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 43 | 3 | |||
| 2023–24[50] | Premier League | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2[d] | 0 | — | 14 | 2 | ||
| 2024–25[51] | Premier League | 32 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 1 | — | — | 41 | 3 | |||
| 2025–26[52] | Premier League | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8[d] | 1 | — | 33 | 1 | ||
| Total | 124 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 2 | 10 | 1 | — | 162 | 11 | |||
| Career total | 178 | 15 | 17 | 4 | 27 | 4 | 31 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 256 | 33 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in FA Community Shield
- Appearances in EFL Trophy
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
