Newcastle United's Danish striker #18 William Osula (R) jumps to head the ball under pressure from Qarabag's Brazilian midfielder #35 Pedro Bicalho (L) during the UEFA Champion's League knockout round play-off, 2nd leg football match between Newcastle United and Qarabag at St James' Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north east England on February 24, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Newcastle United's Danish striker #18 William Osula (R) jumps to head the ball under pressure from Qarabag's Brazilian midfielder #35 Pedro Bicalho (L) during the UEFA Champion's League knockout round play-off, 2nd leg football match between Newcastle United and Qarabag at St James' Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north east England on February 24, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
Will Osula’s future at Newcastle United is uncertain after almost leaving the club last summer.
Howe made seven changes from the 6-1 first leg win in Azerbaijan, with Osula chosen to lead the line ahead of Anthony Gordon and Yoane Wissa on only his fourth start of the campaign.
Osula came close to opening the scoring inside the opening five minutes but his header was saved by the Qarabag goalkeeper before Sandro Tonai poked home the follow up.
Eddie Howe defends Will Osula after poor showing v Qarabag
But overall, it was a night where the 22-year-old passed up his opportunity, though Howe tried to offer some explanation as to why that may have been, with the Danish striker not long back from 13 weeks out with an ankle injury.
Howe said: “I think the challenge and the difficulty for Will is that he's one of another small group of players who have probably suffered from an injury and then hasn't had the training time that he would need to get back to his very, very best.
“When Will's at his best, he's electric, he's so quick, strong, powerful. He's got all the tool, but he's had a very serious injury. He's been out for 13 weeks with an ankle problem.
“He's come back, he's had very limited training time because of the number of games we've had. we've had to have him available.
“I think then you see tonight that he's probably not at his absolute best and we need to try and help him get there, and I think he will.
“But as I said, he's not alone. There's a couple of other players in that position that we need to try and help get to their very best level.”
Newcastle United have a decision to make this summer
Osula attracted genuine interest from Aston Villa and Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, and almost joined the latter on deadline day but a deal collapsed late on.
The former Sheffield United youngster is expected to attract interest again this summer and, as fourth choice striker behind Wissa, Nick Woltemade and Gordon, the Magpies will have a decision to make.
Howe said previously that the club would only allow Osula to leave if there was a view to re-signing him in the future, which explains just how highly he is rated on Tyneside.
“There’s no expectation from me that Will will leave,” Howe said in January. “The only way we would consider that would be for his development and growth but always with a view to come back to us.
“He is injured at the moment so our priority is to get him back fit. We are hopeful he will be back towards the end of the month. He has been frustrated because he was in a good place prior to his injury. As always, there will be a decision taken on each player when the time comes.”
But whether Osula ever fulfils his potential remains up for debate.
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