The cold, hard truth is this: At St. James’ Park this summer, absolutely everyone has a price tag.
Yes, there are players Newcastle United want to build the team around. Lewis Hall, Bruno Guimarães, Lewis Miley and Sven Botman will form the backbone of the new squad – and they will almost certainly stay.
Newcastle are far from their own goals for the season and far below what the player budget would indicate. – With just under a week left of the Premier League season, they find themselves down in 11th place.
Read: Martin Ødegaard makes two big promises to Arsenal supporters
And then you have the others.
Anthony Gordon already has one foot out the door while Newcastle negotiate with Bayern Munich over a transfer fee that will suit both parties. Sandro Tonali? He’s yours – if you’re willing to cough up close to £100 million. So far, no one has signed up for that award.
For the rest of the gang, it’s all about which bids come in. Newcastle will need to become good traders to rebuild the team. There are no sacred cows.
Where does Will Osula fit in?
It’s a fascinating question, given the journey the Danish striker has had in recent months. No doubt: He has taken the chance he has been given. The uncertainty surrounding Gordon’s future and Yoane Wissa’s inability to deliver at the necessary level has opened the door for Osula.
In six straight starts, he has delivered five goals. But more importantly, he looks like a striker who has what it takes to succeed in Eddie Howe’s system.
His movements. The understanding of the game. Remember how he looked rudimentary when he started for a Newcastle without Alexander Isak against Leeds in August? It’s completely transformed.
Much of the credit goes to hard work on the training ground. Assistant coach Jason Tindall has guided an occasionally unsteady Osula throughout the season, and first-team coach Graeme Jones has also contributed. Now the work is bearing fruit. Suddenly, he looks like a top striker.
Read: Liverpool paint their way into a corner
The problem: Are Newcastle going to make money on him now?
The dilemma is this: Newcastle need to get better at selling to make ends meet. Is now the time to sell a player with a high stock?
According to The i Paper, Osula actually has interested parties – both in the Premier League and abroad. Everton and Aston Villa have long admired him, and the interest from the Bundesliga is alive and well.
But the deal Eintracht Frankfurt put on the table last summer – worth £30 million? The feeling now is that it will take almost twice as much to get Newcastle to the negotiating table.
It makes sense. Osula is only 22 years old. The raw material is there, and he can be even better. Goals per minute? He scores one goal every 106 minutes – the best ratio in the entire Premier League.
He is also performing far better than expected goals (xG), and he fits perfectly into a recruitment plan that is all about lowering age and increasing energy in a Newcastle squad that has looked sluggish at times this season. In other words: The Magpies have every right to put a high price tag on any team that wants him.
“One in, one out” – and three difficult choices
As The i Paper wrote a while back, there will be “one in, one out” this summer. This means that Newcastle will have to choose one of three paths:
- Find a buyer and take a loss on Wissa.
- Brokerage an unpopular sale of Nick Woltemade.
- Reshape the team with what they already have.
Option A – even if it has financial consequences – feels like the best solution. Especially if it allows Newcastle to bring in an energetic striker who can share the goal responsibility with Osula and Woltemade (who looked so smart in the role of 10 against West Ham).
The recruitment machinery is running at St. James’ Park
The nature of the goals that have come up – keep an eye on Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara – supports the feeling that this will be a very different transfer window on Tyneside.
European goals. Maybe a couple of unknown names. And a Premier League-proven purchase. That would give Newcastle a new lease of life, while also supporting a manager who has historically preferred security and predictability.
But few expect it to be easy. There is fierce competition for people like Camara.
Osula has deserved the chance
A few weeks ago, the warning lights were sounding over the striker department in Newcastle. But Osula’s rise means that a presale no longer feels necessary. He has earned the opportunity to continue to develop at St. James’ Park.
The question is whether Newcastle dare to let him have that chance – or if they take the embarrassing call and sell him while the value is at its peak.
Real Madrid legend to leave club this summer
