Osula made his fourth senior start of the season in Tuesday’s Champions League second-leg win over Qarabag, but while he helped set up Sandro Tonali’s opener with a header that was saved, his overall performance was somewhat underwhelming.
Since joining Newcastle from Sheffield United in the summer of 2024, the 22-year-old has struggled to make much of an impact, scoring five goals in seven starts and 34 substitute appearances.
He almost joined Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, only for a proposed deadline-day transfer to break down, and Howe concedes it has not been plain sailing for the Danish Under-21 international since he returned to the fold on Tyneside.
A serious ankle problem ruled him out for more than three months, and since returning to action, he has looked short of match sharpness. That is probably only to be expected given his injury issues, but more than 18 months into his Newcastle career, it is hard to see what progress he has made since he arrived from Bramall Lane.
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Howe would no doubt regard that as a harsh assessment, and while it remains difficult to see Osula moving ahead of Anthony Gordon, Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade in the attacking pecking order and forcing his way into the starting line-up in the Premier League on a regular basis, Newcastle’s head coach has certainly not given up on him.
“I think the challenge and difficulty for Will is that he’s one of a small group of players that has probably suffered an injury and not had the training time that he would need to get back to his very, very best,” said Howe, whose side host Everton at the weekend.
“When Will’s at his best, he’s electric. He’s so quick, strong and powerful, he’s got all the tools. But he’s had a very serious injury – he’s been out for 13 weeks with an ankle problem – and then when 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, and so as you could see on the night [against Qarabag], he’s probably not at his absolute best. We need to try to help him get there, and I think he will. He’s not alone, there’s another couple of players in a similar position where we have to try to help them get to their best level.”
Like Osula, Alex Murphy is another youngster hoping to secure more regular game time in the remainder of the season, having started against Qarabag.
Murphy, an Under-21 international with the Republic of Ireland, made his first senior start at left-back on Tuesday night, before finishing the game at centre-half as Howe made defensive changes in the second half.
Murphy has had to be extremely patient this season as he has been a member of the first-team squad on countless occasions without having previously started, but like Osula, his route to more regular first-team football is blocked by a host of more established names.
Lewis Hall is firmly established as Newcastle’s first-choice left-back, with Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier offering alternative options in the position, but Murphy has clearly progressed since spending the second half of last season on loan at Bolton Wanderers and it will be interesting to see if he features more regularly in the final three months of the season.
“It’s a brilliant feeling for myself,” said Murphy, when reflecting on Tuesday’s full debut. “It’s not been an easy year – I haven’t played much football and, as a footballer, obviously you’re not happy when you’re not playing.
“I’ve just always kept the faith and hoped I would eventually get a game, and in the Champions League, I couldn’t have asked for a better occasion to do it on, so I’m happy.”