Following Sunday’s 2-1 win over Wolves, Alexander Isak has received huge praise – and rightly so – for his stunning display, with Miguel Almiron also making the headlines for bagging a late winner.
For me, our man of the match and driving force behind our first win since January was Joe Willock.
The former Arsenal talent has been in and out of the side in recent months. He was forced off with a hamstring injury in our 1-1 draw with Bournemouth but made his first start since then over the weekend, replacing the suspended Joelinton down the left-hand side of our three-man midfield.
It’s become a key role in our side, as big Joe often protects left-back Dan Burn – who often receives little support from Allan Saint-Maximin – breaks up the play, drives forward with the ball AND links up with whoever is starting on the left wing.
Willock did all the above superbly on Sunday and more. Not only did he cover ever blade of grass down our left, getting a toe to so many loose balls and driving at their defence at pace, he showed real composure to set up Almiron’s winner and made certain of all three points in the final stages, clearing Wolves’ corner deep into added time. It was an outstanding box-to-box performance.
For me, he has a unique skillset and massive potential, offering the physical profile of a combative No 8, the high-speed dribbling of a winger and the movement of a No 10. OK, he’s not scoring like he was during that prolific loan spell under Steve Bruce, but his underrated work off the ball and ability to carry the ball at pace makes him a huge asset in Howe’s high-energy side.
His next challenge will be to add goals to his game and improve the consistency of his final product, but it’s easy to forget he’s still just 23.
Bruno Guimaraes called him ‘Willockinho’ on social media after Sunday’s win and it’s a nickname that might just stick if he keeps on delivering displays of this quality.
My MOTM was still Isak. But young Willockinho certainly did himself no harm on Sunday, hopefully he keeps it up now. Not sure why the dig at ASM was necessary here though he was also excellent on Sunday and has been playing better for weeks.
Jimbo72(Quote)