Matthias Jaissle blocked Newcastle United summer transfer exit - now we know why

Who had a Joe Willock renaissance on their 2026-27 Newcastle United bingo card? No, me neither, but here we are.

Willock had one foot out of the St James’ Park exit door until Matthias Jaissle arrived. Under Eddie Howe, the former Arsenal midfielder had lost his way at Newcastle and was ready to accept a fresh challenge with Turkish side Besiktas.

Admit it, you’d written Willock off. It’s fine, you definitely weren’t the only one. In fact, the only person who didn’t was Jaissle, hence why he put a block on the 27-year-old’s proposed move to Turkey.

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Now, were you also one of those wondering why Jaissle and Newcastle had passed up the opportunity to sell Willock, who is into the final year of his contract? Again, you definitely weren’t alone.

But sitting here now, it’s difficult to argue that Jaissle got that decision wrong.

Heading into the three-week international break, Willock is joint-top of Newcastle’s goalscoring charts alongside Harvey Barnes with three goals, the latest coming in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Hull City.

Newcastle have needed players to step up following a huge summer of change, even more so at the weekend after seven senior players — most of whom are key players — were ruled out through injury.

With no Nico Gonzalez or Jacob Ramsey, and £30million signing Aladji Bamba still getting to grips with the Premier League, Willock dropped from the No.10 role into a deeper midfield two and caused Hull all sorts of problems during the opening 20 minutes.

Time and time again, he charged into pockets of space and got his reward after just three minutes when he opened the scoring. Willock got the headlines for his goal, but his overall performance deserves plenty of credit too.

Earlier in the week, Jaissle was clear that his formation “wasn’t too important” and that it was more about the “principles behind that”. In other words, Jaissle demands fluidity, and Willock epitomised it during what was Newcastle’s best 45 minutes of the season.

The second half was less fluid... to say the least. Willock isn’t known for his defensive skills, nor will he ever be, but he showed his commitment to the cause as he quite literally ran himself into the ground for the club and his manager.

Admittedly, the Willock resurgence might not last all season once some of the injured players return, but this start alone has justified Jaissle’s decision to keep him.

Supporters, and possibly even some inside the club, would have feared the worst following the summer changes. Yet Newcastle head into the break with eight points from a possible 15, just one defeat and a place in the last 16 of the Carabao Cup.

And Willock has absolutely played his part in that. A month or so ago, his Newcastle career looked all but over. Now, he’s the unlikely man helping to lead the rebuild.