William Osula didn’t feature in Newcastle United’s FA Cup fifth-round defeat to Brighton on Sunday.
The 21-year-old left Sheffield United for the Magpies last summer but has still not solidified his place in Newcastle United’s starting XI, despite playing well in his limited game time.
William Osula was always going to struggle to cement his place in the starting XI given how well Alexander Isak has played this season. However, the Dane’s versatility should mean that he is at least a contender to play as a right-winger.
Toon boss Eddie Howe deployed Osula on the wing during Newcastle’s win against Birmingham City in the FA Cup last month, where he thrived, bagging two assists and looking threatening throughout. But when the final whistle blew after over 120 minutes of football Osula wasn’t given a runout.
Isak came off injured shortly after Anthony Gordon was sent off for a firm push on Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecka deep into the second half. The Swede was replaced by Callum Wilson, rather than Osula. Wilson wasn’t able to find the winner and Newcastle were dumped out of the competition following a late goal from Danny Welbeck.
With Newcastle now focussing on the Premier League and Carabao Cup final, it has been revealed why Osula didn’t feature at all, despite the Magpies falling to defeat.
Eddie Howe does not trust William Osula
There is no doubt that Osula has the qualities to become a regular first-team player for Newcastle – his limited minutes have shown glimpses of the player fans hope he will be.
However, it does not look like many more chances will come his way this season due to what Howe thinks of him off the pitch.
In his weekly ‘Inside NUFC’ Q&A, Chris Waugh of the Athletic was asked if Newcastle are at risk of becoming a one-man team with the belief that they can only perform when Isak is in the squad.
Waugh replied stating that there is a ‘unique’ dimension to Newcastle’s attack whenever Isak plays which makes them a far more dangerous team.
The same could be said if the Swede played for any other club, however, with Waugh even using Premier League leaders Liverpool as an example in his answer.
In regards to replacements, Waugh stated that Wilson is no longer an able replacement and claimed that Osula has not featured because Howe still doesn’t trust him in important matches, hence why he wasn’t played against Brighton.
The FA Cup has been a good competition to play in this season, despite what Howe thinks. Osula was praised by Stan Collymore for his performance against Birmingham. He also scored his first Newcastle goal against Bromley in the previous round.
Would a loan move help William Osula?
So far this season, Osula has only played 354 minutes across all competitions, including 65 minutes across 10 Premier League appearances. Osula signed for Newcastle for £15m, but it’s clear that fans will have to wait to really see their value for money in him.
That amount of game time is not enough for Osula to continue his development, so he may have to look for more consistent first-team football elsewhere.
In February, it was revealed that Celta Vigo tried to sign Osula on loan on deadline day after they lost Tasos Douvikas. The offer was rejected, however, and the 21-year-old has since continued his development on Tyneside.
Newcastle will look to sign a striker in the summer with Wilson on the verge of leaving upon the expiry of his contract – the 33-year-old has struggled with injury problems this campaign and now looks a shell of the striker he once was.
His possible exit gives Osula a fighting chance to play more minutes but he is more than capable of playing consistently elsewhere to prove to Howe that he is good enough to feature much more regularly at Newcastle.
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