Could a transfer to Serie A help Joe Willock get his career back on track?

With a number of Serie A clubs struggling for form in front of goal, a transfer for Joe Willock could be the answer to many of their problems.

Fiorentina, Lecce, Parma, Pisa, or Verona are just some of the current top-flight Italian clubs who could be the so-far unnamed club pursuing the midfielder’s signature.

Three of those five sides, Verona, Pisa, and Fiorentina, are currently in the relegation zone, while Lecce and Parma are the lowest scorers in Serie A this season.

In this piece, we look at which of the aforementioned five clubs Willock most likely will want to join, potentially on either a short or long-term deal.

Are basement boys Verona eyeing up a Joe Willock transfer?

Starting with bottom-of-the-table Verona, who are in a spiraling downward turmoil of potentially being on their way to playing Serie B football for the first time since the 2017/18 campaign.

Having won only one of their 20 matches this season, only fellow relegation contenders Pisa have triumphed in fewer games throughout the 2025/26 campaign.

That has left them four points adrift of the safety net, instead of their current position of standing on top of the Serie A relegation trapdoor.

In the goalscoring department, Verona have netted the fourth-lowest number of goals this campaign (14), with unsurprisingly three of the above sides, Lecce, Parma, and Pisa, netting fewer.

Taking a more in-depth deep dive, on-loan striker Gift Orban is currently the club’s top scorer this season with six goals, while next on the list is Giovane with three.

Rafik Belghali and Suat Serdar are next up on the list with two league goals apiece. It’s worth mentioning that Giovane also has four assists to his name.

If Willock can rediscover his form from the respective 2020/21 and 2022/23 Premier League campaigns, it could save his potential temporary or permanent employers from relegation.

A midfield partnership of Willock and Mateo Pellegrino could be great for Parma

The last possible Italian location is Parma, which survived relegation last season by the skin of their teeth after fighting against the drop for the majority of 2024/25.

This season has been a slight improvement for Carlos Cuesta’s side in at least the three-point department, with five wins from a possible 20.

However, like the previous year, it has again been a sorry tale with only Lecce scoring fewer than their 14 goals across the current campaign. Only Mateo Pellegrino has impressed in front of goal, with the striker finding the back of the net on six occasions.

The next nearest threat in front of goal has been midfielder Adrián Bernabé, who has scored twice in 20 matches.

Touching on Willock’s previous form for the final time throughout the 2022/23 campaign, he scored three times and contributed six assists, which helped Newcastle finish in seventh position. Parma can afford to finish 10 places below the Magpies’ prior position.

However, beloved supporters of the two-time UEFA Cup and three-time Coppa Italia winners, to name a few trophies won by the club, surely don’t want to see them finish 17th.

Goal-shy Lecce could do with Willock in the middle

Willock’s next potential destination could be the lowest scorers across the 2025/26 Serie A campaign after finding the back of the net only 13 times.

That has translated into Eusebio Di Francesco’s men finding themselves in 17th position. It has also resulted in only four wins across a so-far forgettable 20-match top-flight campaign.

Like with Verona, we can take a quick look at the lack of goals not yet flowing Lecce’s way. Concerningly, their joint top scorers have scored only two goals apiece this season.

Lassana Coulibaly, Nikola Štulić, Medon Berisha, Lameck Banda, and Konan N’dri all currently hold this honour, but it isn’t arguably something you would want to write home about.

As discussed, Willock’s form across previous Premier League seasons has been something to compose a letter about. Firstly, in 2020/21, the attacking midfielder scored eight goals in 14 appearances, including scoring in seven successive matches at the end of the season.

However, Leeds have reportedly been keen on midfielder Willock in the January transfer window, with the recently-promoted outfit not clear of an immediate return to the Championship just yet.

So, it’s now down to time itself to tell us where Willock will end up playing his foreseeable football, if not still at Newcastle.