Howe tips "regular scorer" in training to find net soon as telling stat arrives ahead of Everton clash

Eddie Howe has backed Joe Willock to rediscover his form in front of goal ahead of tonight's clash with Everton.

The boss insists that he's a "regular goalscorer" in training and believes he's "improving week on week", backing our £25m man to grab his first of the season soon after coming "very close" in recent games.

This comes after The Athletic revealed that the former Arsenal man has the second-highest expected goals (xG) for any Premier League midfielder yet to score this season.

Mix this telling stat with his positive performances against Fulham - where he bagged two assists - and Brentford, you suspect it won't be long until the 23-year-old finds the net.

Here's what Howe had to say about Willock when speaking to the press yesterday, highlighting the importance of goals from whoever is operating in the No 8 role:

“I think Joe is improving week on week.

"He has high standards and expectations of himself.

“He wants to be a regular goalscorer and goal creator, and that hasn’t quite happened yet, but he’s been in the positions and has been very close to scoring two or three goals.

“In training, he’s a regular goalscorer and those moments will come in games.

“We need key players in our system to either assist or score.

"Because we’ve been playing a 4-3-3, that’s a big expectation on the No 8s and that won’t change. Regardless of who plays in that position, goals are a requirement.”

No one expects that run of goals he delivered over the second half of the 2020/21 season, which saw him become the youngest player to ever score in SEVEN consecutive Premier League games, yet that stunning form proved what he is capable of when given license to get forward.

Now he's recovered from illness - which saw him start on the bench at Old Trafford - let's hope he can find the net at St James' Park tonight!