 Willock playing forArsenal in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph George Willock[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1999-08-20)20 August 1999 (age 25)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Waltham Forest, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.86 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | 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 | 98 | (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, correct as of 23:08, 10 March 2025 (UTC) | |||
Joseph George Willock (born 20 August 1999) is an English professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder forPremier League clubNewcastle United.
A youth product ofArsenal, 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 theEFL Cup againstDoncaster Rovers.[5]
Willock made hisPremier League debut againstNewcastle United on 15 April 2018.[6] He scored his first senior goal on 29 November 2018 in a 3–0UEFA Europa League victory away atVorskla Poltava.[7] He then scored his first brace in a 3–0 FA Cup victory away atBlackpool 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 againstEintracht Frankfurt by scoring a deflected effort to open the scoring in the opening matchday of the2019–20 UEFA Europa League.[11] Willock scored his first goal at theEmirates Stadium on 24 September 2019 after tapping-in Arsenal's third goal in a 5–0EFL Cup win overNottingham Forest, set-up byHéctor Bellerín.[12] On 25 June 2020, he scored his first Premier League goal in a 2–0 win overSouthampton.[13]
On 1 February 2021, Willock joinedNewcastle 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 againstTottenham Hotspur,West Ham United andLiverpool,[16][17][18] Willock was rewarded with a start againstLeicester 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 againstManchester 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 byRomelu Lukaku.[21] This was surpassed byRasmus 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 byAlan 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 overBrentford.[27]
On 16 March 2025 Joe Willock came off the bench to appear in the2025 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 againstNottingham Forest in the second round of the tournament to help the club's to the final.[29]
Willock scored for theEngland under-16 team againstScotland in the 2014Victory Shield.[30] He also represented theEngland under-19 team but was one of a number of players withdrawn from selection for the2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship by their club.[31]
Willock represented theEngland under-20 team in the2018–19 Under 20 Elite League and scored the winning goals in games againstItaly[32] andGermany.[33] Willock was a member of an England Under-20 side at the2019 Toulon Tournament and scored in group stage defeats againstPortugal[34] and Chile.[35]
On 30 August 2019, Willock was included in theEngland under-21 squad for the first time[36] but had to withdraw due to injury.[37] He eventually made his U21 debut on 11 October 2019 during a 2–2 draw withSlovenia in Maribor.[38]
Willock was born in Walthamstow[39] which is located inWaltham Forest, Greater London.[40] His brothers,Chris andMatty, are also footballers. All three brothers shared a pitch when Manchester United played a reserve game against Arsenal in May 2017.[41] He is ofMontserratian descent.[42]
| 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[43] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 2018–19[44] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 1 | — | 6 | 3 | ||
| 2019–20[45] | Premier League | 29 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8[a] | 2 | — | 44 | 5 | ||
| 2020–21[46] | 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[44] | — | — | — | — | 2[c] | 3 | 2 | 3 | |||||
| Newcastle United (loan) | 2020–21[46] | Premier League | 14 | 8 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 8 | ||||
| Newcastle United | 2021–22[47] | Premier League | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23[48] | Premier League | 35 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 43 | 3 | |||
| 2023–24[49] | Premier League | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2[d] | 0 | — | 14 | 2 | ||
| 2024–25[50] | Premier League | 25 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 1 | — | — | 34 | 3 | |||
| Total | 98 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 122 | 10 | |||
| Career total | 152 | 15 | 14 | 4 | 24 | 4 | 23 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 216 | 32 | ||
Arsenal
Newcastle United
Individual
