Newcastle United signed Joe Willock on transfer deadline day.

The midfielder has moved to the club on loan from Arsenal as he goes in search of first-team football.

The 21-year-old had struggled for minutes at the Emirates Stadium and made just two Premier League starts in the 2020/21 campaign.

Now, though, he will be aiming to get back onto the pitch regularly for the Magpies.

And he has revealed that he moved to the club as a direct result of a Zoom call with manager Steve Bruce, who convinced him to make the move to north London.

Quoted by Chronicle Live, he said: "For me, it was when I first spoke to the manager Steve Bruce he spoke to me and gave me brilliant confidence to come here and try to make a difference.

"That was my first initial thought and I felt that this was the club that I wanted to go to.

"Then it developed and everything went smoothly but now I am here and ready to start the new journey.

"The manager asked me how I was and how training was. He was very humorous with me, he made a few jokes, I'm a funny guy and I love to have jokes.

"It was a conversation starter but then he spoke about he was going to use me, where he sees me in the team, he had a whole plan for me already. I was really shocked, it's the first time I've had a manager who had a whole plan for me."

GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…

Bruce has come in for a fair bit of stick in recent weeks.

The club have been in poor form and have won just one of their last 11 league games.

It has led to a dangerous slide towards the relegation zone but he clearly still has the charm to convince new signings to make the move to St James’ Park.

That is a good sign and one has to hope that Willock can make the impact Bruce told him he could in the north east.

If he can, and he can help them climb the table, this will look like a masterstroke.