Newcastle United are clearly keen to bring Joe Willock back to their club this summer, but formal negotiations are yet to take place.

The Athletic report that neither Newcastle United nor Arsenal know what the Gunners plan to do with Joe Willock this summer. The feeling is that they would consider a sizeable offer of around £20m, but formal negotiations are yet to take place.

Ideally, Newcastle would probably prefer to loan Willock again, something Steve Bruce discussed with Mikel Arteta in January. But they don’t have any clause or agreement in his current deal for another loan or a permanent transfer.

With only two years left on his Arsenal contract, the club are only likely to accept another loan if he signs a contract extension first.

Then there’s the potential interest from elsewhere. Willock’s goalscoring exploits are creating a lot of headlines at the moment, earning him attention from plenty of other clubs.

Newcastle hope they’d be at the front of the line if Willock does leave Arsenal, and they believe he’s settled in well. But it’s unclear at this stage what the player himself wants from this summer, whether that’s to stay at Arsenal or move on.

Willock’s four Premier League goals for Newcastle have them on the verge of securing safety, despite their defeat to Arsenal in his absence at the weekend. It’s not hard to see why they’d want him back, but there are clearly no guarantees on his future.