The Dutch international is exactly the kind of full-back Newcastle United have been praying for.
Newcastle United fans have been hankering for a forward-thinking, pinpoint-crossing left-back for quite some time. The steady yet distinctly unspectacular Paul Dummett does not exactly get fans off their seats despite Rafa Benitez’s admiration while summer signing Achraf Lazaar has only featured in 37 minutes of league action all season spread across four substitute appearances.
Jetro Willems, meanwhile, is a full-back Newcastle fans can bang the drum to. And, according to Football Oranje, the Dutch international has finally set his sights on flying the Eredivisie nest after two years of incessant scouting by the Magpies.
Exploding onto the scene at Euro 2012, becoming the youngest ever player to feature in the European Championships, Willems is still only 22 and appears to have outgrown his humble homeland league.
In truth, he really should have left two seasons ago as his incredible 13 league assists helped PSV break Ajax’s stranglehold on the Eredivisie crown.
According to The Chronicle, Newcastle scout Graham Carr had watched Willems extensively throughout the 2014/15 campaign and barely a window has passed since the club’s name has accompanied Willems in the gossip column.
However, his confirmation that he is likely to finally end his six-year association with PSV will crank the speculation machine into overdrive again.
“I must now prepare myself for a foreign league after six years in the Netherlands,” Willems said in quotes reported by Football Oranje. “That ambition is natural. In England the football twice as hard as in the Eredivisie.”
A sublime crosser of the ball, the fans, as well as desperate-to-impress target man Aleksandar Mitrovic, will no doubt be praying Newcastle finally convince Willems to sign on the dotted line.