Will Osula applauds the Newcastle United fans after the win over Crystal Palace (Image: John Walton/PA Wire)
Will Osula applauds the Newcastle United fans after the win over Crystal Palace (Image: John Walton/PA Wire)
HAVING completed a successful return from injury by scoring at Crystal Palace, Will Osula is ready to spearhead Newcastle United’s attack in the forthcoming double-header with Everton as they look to continue their rise up the Premier League table and reach the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Having ended last season impressively, Osula started the current campaign with a bang when he set up Anthony Elanga’s fifth-minute opener against Liverpool on the opening weekend of the season.
Osula troubled the Liverpool defence repeatedly throughout the first half, but was forced off shortly after the break with a foot injury that would keep him on the sidelines for more than a month-and-a-half.
He was eased back in with substitute appearances against Coventry City and Aston Villa, but Sunday’s game at Selhurst Park marked his return to the starting line-up and he delivered in style as he calmly converted Jacob Murphy’s 47th-minute cross to open the scoring in Newcastle’s 2-0 win.
“I’m very happy to be back,” said Osula, who joined Newcastle from Sheffield United in the summer of 2024. “Thank God I’m back from injury now. It’s been a tough period, but I’m happy to be back with the team, and being able to help the team with a win was really important.
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“Obviously, an injury comes unexpectedly, when you don’t expect it, which is not nice after planning and having goals from the start of the season. But, you know, I trust God and have faith in God that I could come back from the injury.
“I’m happy that I could deliver with my first start. Hopefully, I can keep going in my season now and kick-start from here.”
In Elanga’s absence, Matthias Jaissle has struggled to identify a viable replacement to lead the line as a ‘number nine’.
Yoane Wissa was stationed as the lead striker on a number of occasions, but the DR Congo international increasingly looks much better suited to playing in a more withdrawn attacking role. Similarly, while Matias Fernandez-Pardo might insist that he sees himself as a centre-forward, his early performances in a Newcastle shirt suggest he is likely to be much more effective as either a ‘number ten’ or a wide attacker.
Osula is the most natural ‘number nine’ in the squad by some distance, as highlighted by the opener against Palace which saw him burst into the six-yard box before calmly prodding home a first-time volley to convert Murphy’s whipped cross.
“It was about staying patient,” said the Dane, who asked about his approach at Selhurst Park. “In the first half, I was looking to see where the opportunities and chances were coming from, but not much came.
“So, in the second half, we came out with optimism and faith, knowing that if something’s going to drop, we have to be alert and take it. And also have a clean sheet at the back and defend well. That’s what we needed for the three points.”
Having claimed a third league win of the season in south London, Newcastle’s players now find themselves turning their attention towards a quickfire double-header with Everton.
The Magpies head to the Hill Dickinson Stadium in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Thursday evening before hosting Everton at St James’ Park in the league next Monday.
Win both matches, and Newcastle will be in the last eight of the League Cup and could potentially rise as high as fifth in the Premier League table.
“Anyone can keep rising up the table and maybe surprise people,” said Osula. “We just have to keep working hard and keep our heads down, take it game by game, and hopefully something like that can happen.
“Every game is important. You need to go into every game with a winning mentality, wanting to win. That’s what we need to do, like we did [against Palace].”