QPR star Chris Willock dreaming of joining Newcastle brother Joe in the Premier League
QPR’S Chris Willock is dreaming of joining his brother Joe in the Premier League. Youngest-of three Joe, 22, took the spotlight by sealing a £25million move to Newcastle from Arsenal this summer. And after watching him score in SEVEN consecutive Premier League games on loan at Newcastle last term, winger Chris is now making his […]
QPR’S Chris Willock is dreaming of joining his brother Joe in the Premier League.
Youngest-of three Joe, 22, took the spotlight by sealing a £25million move to Newcastle from Arsenal this summer.
And after watching him score in SEVEN consecutive Premier League games on loan at Newcastle last term, winger Chris is now making his mark at QPR.
Two goals and two assists already this season have helped Mark Warburton’s side to third in the Championship, behind big spenders Fulham and West Brom.
The 23-year-old told SunSport: “My dream is to play in the Premier League and Joe always encourages me and believes I’m good enough.
“Coming from him it goes a long way because he has been there and done it.
“From young kids the dream was always to play with each other or play against each other. Hopefully one day that can happen.”
With the eldest of the trio Matty, 25, scoring on his Salford City debut last month, Willock revealed a secret wager is what keeps them all on their toes.
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He added: “We had a sneaky competition to see who can score the most goals and whoever comes last takes us all out for dinner.
“There is a little bit of competition but it is healthy.
“I always check my phone after games to see their games and when I see them score it feels like I have scored. It’s a joy I can’t explain, seeing them doing well makes me happy.”
The band of brothers grew up playing football together in East London — after their parents fled Monserrat’s volcanic eruptions in the 1990s — before being drafted into Arsenal’s academy.
Matty was the first to leave as he signed for Manchester United and all three shared a pitch during a reserve game between the Red Devils and the Gunners in 2017.
It was Chris who made the biggest jump in 2018 when he signed a five-year deal with Portuguese champs Benfica.
He only made their B team before moving to QPR last year — after loans at West Brom and Huddersfield — but he believes his time abroad was a success.
Willock said: “When we all split up it was hard. My dad said to us and reminded us all we will all be in different stages of our career but we will always be together.
“As a young boy all I knew was London — with my friends and my mum doing everything for me.
“When I moved abroad I got a reality check. I made changes to my life, learnt a new culture and it showed me how much I need to work hard to get where I want to be.”
In Portugal, Willock struck up a relationship with former QPR star Adel Taarabt after the Moroccan playmaker took him under his wing.
And his mentor Taarabt, 32, has even set targets to reach this campaign.
Willock explained: “He took me in as a little brother. I would go out with him and we still speak now and he has helped me a lot in my career.
“He called me just before the season and was telling me what he expects from me and he is always looking out for our games.”
Ahead of Saturday’s trip to Reading, the Arsenal academy graduate is confident his QPR side can maintain an unbeaten start to the season.
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He said: “I am confident we can keep winning games and performing well.
“We are not trying to get above ourselves but we know we’ve the potential to go all the way.
“We will take it game by game and if that’s promotion, hopefully we can do that.”
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