I see another Joelinton possibly in young Will Osula… | OneFootball

Will Osula arrived at Newcastle United last summer for a reported initial £10m from relegated Sheffield United.

The signing raised a few eyebrows and a few questions.

The young Dane had never scored in the Premier league, never even registered an assist.

People questioned why on earth were we buying him, a player that had only scored his goals at youth level, in the FA Cup and League One.

I was on the fence with the signing, as I wasn’t sure how good he was. I didn’t really watch Sheffield United play much that season, nor was the name Will Osula even the first that came to mind when talking about Sheffield United.

I understood it from a long-term point of view, Will Osula a kid that had a load of potential growth. A lot of nurturing and who knows, he could well be a really good player a few years down the line.

I’m still not sure yet what kind of player Will Osula is.

Eddie Howe labelled him as unpredictable and yeah, I think I’d go along with that.

I see another Joelinton possibly in young Will Osula. I don’t mean that he will struggle for goals as a CF in a Newcastle United team. I mean I’m still not quite sure what his best position is in these early days.

I don’t think he’s a typical CF as such and I don’t think he’s a winger either. Not like the ones we have in Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes or Anthony Gordon.

I think he’s more of a workhorse supporting forward that will do a bit of everything. From running the channels, holding the ball up, playing different roles. I think he could be a good versatile player for us if given enough time to develop with regular game time.

In 413 minutes in all competitions, Will Osula has scored twice and assisted twice for the team in his first season, so in my opinion he’s done very well in the limited game time he was given. So who knows what he could contribute with a sufficient amount of game time.

Recently, Newcastle United have been linked with the likes of Joao Pedro and Anthony Elanga, two very good players in my opinion who would would 100 percent strengthen the squad.

I don’t see it happening for a few reasons.

The sheer cost of both.

The potential budget we have for other areas of the squad.

Plus, how on earth could you keep seven forwards on the books happy with a sufficient amount of game time in a season?

Yes, of course there would be injuries, rotation, suspension etc, but what on earth would you do with Will Osula?

Where would he fit in this team if both Elanga and Pedro signed for the club?

Up against Gordon and Barnes on the left?

Up against Murphy and Elanga on the right?

Up against Isak and Pedro down the middle?

I don’t mean any disrespect to young Osula but he’d be right at the back of the queue and as I said above, he needs regular game time to develop as a player, regardless what position Eddie Howe however decides to play him in.

I don’t see both Pedro and Elanga signing, not just because of the money , but we’d be simply be overloaded in the forwards area. Someone would have to be sold , simple as that.

I have no idea who will eventually arrive at the club, but for young players like Will Osula and our most recent signing Antonio Cordero, they along with Lewis Miley and other young players need to have a sufficient amount of game time to develop into very good players.

They’ll never hit their potential if we hang on to every first choice player, plus buy readymade PL players on top.

Anyway, I’m already looking forward to seeing the fixtures being released next week and hopefully United making the right summer signings so we can compete next season.