Eddie Howe made eight changes to his Newcastle United side against AFC Wimbledon and handed William Osula his first start.
The 21-year-old striker arrived on Tyneside this summer after Newcastle paid £10m to sign him from Sheffield United.
However, he has had to remain patient before being handed his first start with his only minutes before Tuesday evening coming in a late substitute cameo against Fulham.
But with Alexander Isak out with a toe injury and Callum Wilson still struggling with his back, it was the perfect opportunity for Eddie Howe to start Osula.
The young Danish forward almost made an immediate impact after bursting through on goal early on, but after that he was starved of the ball with Newcastle struggling to carve out clear-cut chances against a well-organised Wimbledon defence.
However, there was enough in William Osula‘s performance to suggest Newcastle fans will “love him”.
William Osula performance vs AFC Wimbledon
Howe made sweeping changes to his starting lineup, and while he didn’t hand an opportunity to any academy stars, he did put his faith in Osula up front.
It turned out to be a difficult evening on his first start, but there can be no question marks about his work rate.
Osula made some promising runs and intelligent movement in the box, but Newcastle’s lethargic midfield was not able to find him in space.
His brightest moment came in the second half when he received the ball with his back to goal and spun in the box before unleashing a shot at goal.
It was only a half chance, but it gave Newcastle supporters a glimpse at what is to come from their young striker.
Newcastle United fans all notice one thing about William Osula
It was difficult to assess Osula’s performance given that he was forced to feed off scraps, but the reaction on social media suggests Newcastle fans liked what they saw from the summer signing.
In fact, there was one attribute of Osula’s game that almost every Newcastle fan was talking about – his lightning pace.
Via X, formerly known as Twitter, one supporter wrote: “Fast, strong, needs work but promising for sure”.
Another added: “Osula has pace to burn” and his speed was very much a hot topic. “Osula’s got some legs on him hasn’t he?” posted one fan.
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Supporters even suggested Osula could be a great replacement for Callum Wilson, with one writing: “William Osula very quick for a big lad, could quite easily fill Wilson’s shoes.”
Fans liked what they saw, and they want more.
“Osula’s movement has been very impressive, and the way he finds space with his first touch. Looks fairly quick as well. Would like to see him get more minutes in PL” posted another supporter.
Finally, one fan gave a brilliant assessment of Osula – “I really like the look of him actually. We don’t need him to be as good as Isak – we need him to be as good as Wilson is. And I think he can get there – his movement is brilliant and he’s strong. Need to put his chances away though.”
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