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Osula project pays off to help ease pressure on HoweFigure caption, Newcastle end losing streak with victory over BrightonByCiaran Kelly
It was not quite a sleepless night for Eddie Howe, but the Newcastle United head coach clearly had a lot on his mind before the Premier League visit of Brighton.
“There was a moment where I woke up and thought, ‘Oh dear, what day is it?’. It’s really unusual for me,” he mentioned.
“I’m a really good sleeper, but there was an anxiety for me last night where I’m going into today’s game just wanting the team to perform.”
That should not come as a surprise after Howe faced difficult questions at an annual club summit attended by Newcastle’s owners and executives at Matfen Hall in Northumberland on Thursday.
A torrid run of nine defeats in 12 had left the club languishing in 15th place.
As much as Howe felt support from those above him, he was “under no illusions” that his side had to get back to winning ways sooner rather than later.
Newcastle ended up doing just that in front of watching chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and minority owner Jamie Reuben on Saturday as the hosts defeated in-form Brighton 3-1.
It was an afternoon when Howe relied on experienced heads, including keeper Nick Pope, defender Dan Burn and winger Jacob Murphy, who had only returned to the starting line-up last week.
But William Osula is also a player he clearly trusts.
Howe’s decision to keep faith with the Danish striker again paid off 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 after he was taken off.
“He’s very hungry, motivated and believes in himself,” mentioned Howe. “I think he has a really bright future.”
Image source, Getty ImagesWilliam Osula has scored seven goals in all competitions for Newcastle United this season
Osula had previously caught the eye when the owners last visited St James’ Park.
The substitute got on the scoresheet and caused havoc when he came on for 10-man Newcastle against Liverpool back in August.
It was a night when winger Anthony Gordon started up front before getting sent off, but Osula was the only specialist centre-forward available at the time.
Alexander Isak was on strike, in a bid to force through a £125m move to Liverpool, and the club were still searching for solutions in the transfer market after failed moves for Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko.
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.
He stayed and has since stepped up with some big goals in recent months.
There was a superb winner in stoppage time against Manchester United, a deadlock breaker at Crystal Palace, an equaliser against Bournemouth and another opener against Brighton.
His just in finish was the easiest, heading a Murphy cross into an empty net after goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen had rushed out of his goal.
Crucially, though, Osula was in the right place at the right time to do so.
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”.
“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,” he mentioned of Osula, who Newcastle recruited from Sheffield United in 2024.
“A lot of work and time has gone into his development. [Assistant managers] Graeme Jones and Jason Tindall have done an incredible job helping his development, analysing his game, feeding back to him.
“Will has done really well to stay stable, level and commit to that development and see the longer-term plan. It’s great to see that when he comes into the team and gets an opportunity, he grabs it.”
‘He’s taken a lot of stick’ – Burn dedicates Brighton win to Howe
There are sure to be further opportunities in the final weeks of the campaign before a busy summer gets under way.
This week’s summit was as much about plotting the future as it was analysing the team’s recent form.
Recruitment plans and infrastructure projects were discussed, and an announcement is expected down the line regarding plans for a new state-of-the-art training ground following a major capital investment.
It was just a few days ago Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) verified it is to withdraw its multi-billion dollar backing of LIV Golf at the end of the season.
But Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor, underlined his commitment to the squad in the dressing room after Saturday’s win.
He will fly out of Tyneside knowing these players are very much still fighting for Howe.
In fact, after substitute Harvey Barnes sealed the victory against Brighton in stoppage time, Burn made a beeline for Howe and assistants Tindall and Jones to hug them.
“A lot of the responsibility falls on us,” Burn told BBC Final Score. “The gaffer has taken a lot of stick, but that was for him today.”
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