A message has been sent to Newcastle over William Osula.
A message has been sent to Newcastle over William Osula.
Newcastle United now have their 2025/2026 Premier League season mapped out as they aim for success both domestically and in the Champions League.
The Magpies start their season with a trip to the midlands to take on Aston Villa at Villa Park. The game will take place at 12.30pm on Saturday, August 16, with their first home match coming a week later against Liverpool.
Eddie Howe will be hoping to have got most of his transfer business done by time those fixtures come around. There could however be comings and goings up until the clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers at St James' Park in September.
With the build-up to the campaign now gathering pace, there's been a lot of talk about potential comings and goings at Newcastle. So, we've taken a look at a couple of the latest stories and given our own thoughts;
Failed transfer hijack
Newcastle appear to have failed in a reported attempted hijack of Udinese defender Jaka Bijol's transfer to Leeds United. Just a few days ago, it was claimed by Sky Sports Switzerland that Newcastle had entered the race for the Slovenia centre-back.
At the time of Newcastle reportedly entering the race, Bijol had already agreed personal terms with Leeds, but it was said that Newcastle could "change that". It now however seems that any transfer hijack didn't come off, with Leeds Live reporting that the Slovenian has undergone a medical at Elland Road ahead of his switch to the newly-promoted side.
ChronicleLive says: Newcastle should have an advantage over Leeds in any transfer race, given the two side's positions ahead of the new season. Leeds are expected to be fighting to stay in the top-flight, while Newcastle have Champions League football to offer.
Therefore, to me, it suggests that while Newcastle may have shown an interest in the centre-back, they possibly didn't push too hard to try and beat their rivals to the signing - with other targets potentially taking priority.
Osula message shared
William Osula needs more regular game-time to show what he can do, according to Denmark U21 manager Steffen Hojer. Following comments from the player himself saying he's looking for more minutes, it's a sentiment shared by his manager following Osula's brace in their 2-1 win over the Netherlands.
Speaking to Bold, he said: "I think I've mentioned the potential many times, and that's because he plays too little for people to notice him.
"But against Holland you got a bit of that. He's been good on this team, and he's scored a lot of goals.
"He has the speed that he has, and he's not easy for the others to handle. It is quite impressive what he goes in and does, when you think about what he came with."
ChronLive says: In an ideal world, Osula will get more game-time at Newcastle next season, but he might find it hard to oust Alexander Isak as first choice. Game-time will be even harder to come by if Callum Wilson stays put, beyond this season. Therefore, the best solution would be to send the player out on loan for the season.
A campaign where he can show what he can do, either in the Premier League or with a higher end Championship team would be good for both the player and Newcastle looking to the future.