Newcastle United are reportedly close to agreeing a deal for Joe Willock to return to the club, but the details remain very sketchy.

The Telegraph lead with a headline that Newcastle are “close to agreeing deal for Joe Willock to return to club on loan”, but the actual article appears much less conclusive on the matter.

The report suggests Newcastle “believe” they are close to finalising a deal, and he’s “likely” to return on loan. They add that Arsenal “could even” offer the player a contract extension first, and Mikel Arteta “still has to give the transfer the green light”.

Later in the article, they suggest Newcastle wanted a permanent deal for Willock, but the issue is that Mike Ashley is refusing to sanction any major deals until the result of the hearing on a potential club takeover.

As a result, The Telegraph suggest a loan deal “possibly with a requirement to buy” makes the most sense.

It seems pretty clear to me that this is far from a done deal. It could be a loan, it could be a loan with an obligation, it could yet still be the permanent deal Newcastle wanted, Arteta could still say no, and Willock may or may not extend his contract first.

For an article with such a conclusive headline, the actual details suggest there’s really nothing agreed right now.

Willock is currently in Edinburgh with the Arsenal squad, but he missed out on the friendly match against Hibs. Arteta said after the game he had a minor groin issue and they didn’t want to risk him.