Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce would be delighted to retain the services of Arsenal loanee Joe Willock beyond the 2020-21 campaign.
Willock, 21, was the Magpies' match-winner on Saturday as he came off the bench to score a late winner in their 3-2 defeat of West Ham.
The result takes Newcastle away from the relegation zone, with Willock making a decisive contribution in his last two appearances.
What was said?
“We would love to keep him here,” Bruce told reporters when asked about Willock's future. “He is the type of player you’d love to build your club around.
“Whether we can or not I’m not quite sure.”
The bigger picture
Willock joined Newcastle on loan from Arsenal in January and immediately endeared himself to his new employers with a goal in his debut to help defeat Southampton 3-2.
His performances dipped after that fantastic start, though, and the youngster was benched by Bruce following a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Brighton in March.
But he has bounced back in fine fashion, netting an 85th-minute equaliser to salvage a point against Tottenham earlier this month and repeating the feat as a substitute on Saturday.
"I am happy to help the team again. I thought the boys played well," he said to Sky Sports.
"I was happy to come on. My first touch was a bit rusty, you can get rusty sitting on the bench for 70 minutes.
"I was happy though. I have been working on my heading. So I was happy it paid off today."
Newcastle have now won two and drawn one of their last three outings in the Premier League, a run that has allowed Bruce's charges to open a nine-point gap ahead of Fulham in the final relegation spot.
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