William Osula is a 21-year-old Danish professional footballer, who played for Sheffield United. The Dane stands six foot four and plays as a forward, primarily up front.
Newcastle have completed a deal for the player for an ‘undisclosed fee’, although it’s widely reported that we’ll pay an initial £10m plus £5m in add-ons. After a patient wait for signings, it finally gives us something to talk about again on the transfer front.
The youngster began his career at Copenhagen before moving to Sheffield United’s academy side in 2018. Despite arriving at the club six years ago, his professional debut came in March 2022 when coming off the bench. His full debut then came against Crystal Palace a year later in August 2023.
Osula was then sent out on loan to League One side, Derby County. However, midway through the 2022/23 season, he was recalled to Sheffield early. In his time at Derby, he managed five goals in 23 appearances, with three of those goals being in the FA Cup.
Since his return to Bramall Lane, the forward struggled to leave his mark on the Premier League with no goals in 21 games, playing 734 minutes of football. However, many will remember that there wasn’t much to shout about that Sheffield United team, who were sent straight back down to the Championship, only managing 38 goals in 38 games.
Osula’s unique profile – What will he offer?
The main aspects of Osula’s game to look out for are his rare mixture of size and pace, along with his link-up play and ability to high press.
It goes without saying, that to play in an Eddie Howe side, you have to be athletic as well as technical. In regard to athleticism, Osula is strong, as well as quick – Howe commented on his “extreme pace” on Thursday – and he has the ability to hold the ball up, which is key for bringing others into the game and linking up the play.
His athletic nature not only provides hold-up play but also the ability to press high and cause problems for defenders which is exactly what Eddie Howe loves. It’s a unique profile
It is also worth noting his movement in behind is good but that poses the question as to why he hasn’t scored more goals. It may be said that his finishing needs work, but also that he requires more creativity behind him, which he certainly didn’t have at Sheffield with all due respect.
It remains to be said how the youngster will be used by Eddie Howe, but it is likely he will spend a lot of time on the sidelines learning what he can from those around him. He may feature in the early stages of the cup competitions, but with Eddie Howe wanting to bring silverware to Tyneside, he may only feature off the bench with a strong starting eleven to begin with.
What can he learn?
One positive for Osula is the calibre of strikers ahead of him here at Newcastle. The Dane has Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson to learn from, who last season had a combined, 35 goals in 66 games.
One negative for us, but a potential opportunity for Osula may be that he could have a chance to prove himself earlier than expected, due to Isak and Wilson’s injury record.
There was a point in the 2023/24 season when both of our strikers were out with injuries, meaning Eddie Howe had to play Anthony Gordon up front. For obvious reasons, we hope the pair manage to stay fit, but with Wilson already potentially ruled out till September, Isak is our only available striker.
However, with just two weeks until the opening game of the 2024/25 season, Osula will have to take in as much advice and learn as much as he can from the forwards, as an injury to Isak would mean Eddie Howe would be relying on someone who is yet to score in the Premier League.
On the other hand, despite scepticism from some of our fans over the transfer, others have pointed towards previous signings new sporting director Paul Mitchell, has made.
Mitchell has signed some top names in the past such as Dele Alli, Christopher Nkunku, Kieran Trippier, Toby Alderweireld, Dani Olmo and others. Therefore, many fans have urged others to trust Mitchell’s decision to make the signing and to back Eddie Howe’s coaching and development skills. As we have seen in the past Eddie Howe has developed players such as Joelinton, into being one of the first names on the team sheet.
