Eddie Howe has just confirmed £30m Newcastle United striker decision ahead of transfer window
Will Osula came very close to leaving Newcastle United last summer.
Eddie Howe has confirmed he wants Will Osula to stay at Newcastle United next season.
The 22-year-old again got the nod up front ahead of £119million duo Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa and took just 12 minutes to justify his selection after opening the scoring in Saturday’s 3-1 over Brighton & Hove Albion.
Osula has now scored four goals in his last six Premier League games.
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‘Maturing nicely’ - Eddie Howe on Will Osula
“I think he's maturing nicely,” Howe said on Osula. “I think it's difficult to come in and a lot of pressure, a lot of other players waiting for an opportunity, so he knows he has to perform.
“He took his goal really well against Crystal Palace, followed that up well against Bournemouth. And then today, he'd probably back himself to school there, but he's still got to be in the right position.
“But more than that, I thought for 60 minutes, his running ability, his power, his pace caused him real problems.”
Eddie Howe wants Will Osula to stay at Newcastle Unite
Just 12 months after joining from Sheffield United for £15million, Osula was on the verge of leaving Newcastle for £30million last summer, only for a deadline day move to Eintracht Frankfurt to fall through.
Aston Villa also showed serious interest but were unable to push ahead with a deal due to UEFA’s financial rules.
Osula is putting himself in the ‘shop window’ so to speak through his recent performances, but Howe wants to keep the player at St James’ Park.
“I'd definitely like to keep him,” Howe admitted. “I think Will's a player of really rich promise, and he was when we signed him.
“We signed him with the view of developing him to try and build him to become a Premier League player, because that certainly wasn't the player that we recruited.
“There was a lot of work and time that's gone into his development. Graeme Jones, Jason Tindall have done an incredible job helping his development, analysing his game, feeding back to him, and Will's done really well to stay stable, level, and commit to that development and see the longer-term plan.
“Great to see, then, when he comes into the team and gets an opportunity that he grabs it. He's very hungry, he's very motivated, he believes in himself.