Howe reaffirms belief in 'hungry and motivated' Osula
William Osula is a player Eddie Howe clearly trusts. The manager's decision to keep faith with the Danish striker paid off again, after he left £124m-worth of forwards - Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa - on the bench. Osula has plenty of rough edges but the 22-year-old opened the scoring, caused the visitors problems with his pace, and tellingly left the field to a warm ovation from supporters when he was substituted off after a 68-minute appearance.
[Getty Images] William Osula is a player Eddie Howe clearly trusts. The manager's decision to keep faith with the Danish striker paid off again, after he left £124m-worth of forwards - Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa - on the bench. Osula has plenty of rough edges but the 22-year-old opened the scoring, caused the visitors problems with his pace, and tellingly left the field to a warm ovation from supporters when he was substituted off after a 68-minute appearance.
"He is very hungry, motivated and believes in himself," said Howe post-match. "I think he has a really bright future. " Osula's options looked limited following the subsequent arrival of Woltemade and Wissa, and he came close to joining Eintracht Frankfurt on deadline day last summer.
However, he stayed and has since stepped up with some big goals in recent months. Although Newcastle are likely to still be in the market for a striker this summer, Howe wants to hold on to a player with "really rich promise". Speaking about Osula, who Newcastle recruited from Sheffield United in 2024, Howe added: "We signed him with the view of developing him and trying to build him to become a Premier League player, because that certainly wasn't the player we recruited.
"He has done really well to stay stable, commit to that development and see the longer-term plan. "It is great to see that when he comes into the team and gets an opportunity, he grabs it. " Read Ciaran Kelly's full piece here