Newcastle reject bid for Joe Willock but midfielder still expected to leave

Joe Willock is likely to be the next Newcastle United player to depart this summer, following Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali.

The former Arsenal man signed for Newcastle for £25 million following an extremely impressive loan spell but has never managed to recapture that level of performance during his five years at the club.

Eddie Howe has stuck by Willock, however, continuing to use him when fans were hoping to see other players given a chance ahead of him.

Despite Howe's backing, it does look as though Willock will leave St James' Park this summer provided a decent bid comes in.

Besiktas opened the bidding at just £10m

Turkish side Besiktas are reportedly keen on the 26-year-old, but their opening bid has been rejected by Newcastle.

According to The Chronicle, Besiktas made a bid of just £10 million last week before Willock took part in the friendly draw against Gateshead on Saturday.

The Magpies are hoping to bring in £25 million for Willock, who is determined to stay and fight for his place in the team despite the arrival of Sean Steur and Aladji Bamba.

Is £25m a fair price?

We do feel it's a bit ambitious asking for £25 million for Willock based on recent form, but we also do get it.

Willock is still only 26, and while we haven't been impressed with his contributions overall of late, we have still seen moments that reminded us of why we all got so excited by his signing in the first place.

If he can get a move to a club where he's likely to get plenty of minutes, he could regain his confidence and start to string some performances together that could justify the £25 million price tag. It's a big if, and a bold strategy for Newcastle to hold out for that kind of money, but it's not beyond the realms of possibility.