“I will sign him” - Joe Willock plan revealed by Besiktas chief Serdal Adalı

Beşiktaş president Serdal Adalı has revealed just how far the Turkish giants went in their attempts to sign Joe Willock during the summer transfer window.

Newcastle ultimately kept hold of the midfielder, despite a reported £17m offer from the Super Lig side. 

But, with Willock out of contract at the end of the season and enjoying an excellent start to the 2026/27 campaign, we could see renewed interest in 2027.

Beşiktaş president reveals huge effort to sign Willock

Speaking to Milliyet, Adalı revealed that Beşiktaş went as far as bringing Willock’s family to Istanbul during their attempts to convince the Newcastle midfielder to make the move.

“There were players we couldn’t sign in the summer. Our manager wanted Willock. From day one, it was Willock, Willock. Nobody knows this, but I brought Willock’s whole family to Istanbul.

“They picked out a house, and they had video calls with Italiano and Onder [Ozen, the football director] at least ten times. Furthermore, we went to see the player in person twice.”

Adalı also confirmed that Willock was the player that new head coach Vincenzo Italiano most wanted during the summer, with Beşiktaş now planning to return for him in January.

“His contract ends at the end of the season. He can sign a pre-contract in the winter. They had asked for £20 million. We can sign him in January – in fact, I will sign him. 

“The only player the manager wanted that we missed out on was Joe Willock. We genuinely need someone there.”

Willock likely to be offered new deal?

This is where it gets interesting for Newcastle.

Willock’s contract expires at the end of the season, meaning the midfielder will be able to discuss a pre-contract with clubs outside England from January if he doesn’t agree a new deal.

And Beşiktaş are clearly hoping to take advantage of that situation, based on Adali’s comments. However, Willock has given Newcastle plenty of reason to reconsider his future this season.

He has started the campaign in excellent form, scoring against Liverpool, Millwall and Hull, playing a key role under Matthias Jaissle.

So, Newcastle offer him a new contract to protect his value and cash in, or has his strong start to the season has done enough to convince the club that he remains an important part of Jaissle’s plans?

Either way, Beşiktaş have made their intentions very clear. They wanted Willock in the summer, went to extraordinary lengths to try and make the deal happen, and now their president is openly saying he intends to try again in January.