NEWCASTLE UNITED SIGN STRIKER WILLIAM OSULA FROM SHEFFIELD UNITED FOR £15 MILLION
Newcastle United have signed Danish striker William Osula on a permanent deal from Championship side Sheffield United, the club announced on Thursday.
Per Sky Sports’ Keith Downie, the transfer fee is reportedly worth up to £15 million, including a fixed fee of £10 million and up to £5 million in add-ons. Osula signs with Newcastle on a long-term contract, five-year deal that will keep him in the North East until the summer of 2029.
“I’m very happy to be here,” said Osula in an interview with Newcastle United media. “Of course, it’s a big club, a great club, great opportunity. I just heard about Newcastle, I said ‘yeah, I’ll take that with both hands if that comes’ and it’s come. So, I’m happy to be here.”
A Denmark Under-21 international, Osula began his youth career in his native Denmark before moving to South Yorkshire and joining Sheffield United’s academy in 2018. The 21-year-old made 21 Premier League appearances with Sheffield United last season and is quietly regarded as a promising future star in European football.
“He’s a player that we’ve known,” said Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe in a press conference on Thursday. “Well, I’ve known [him] since [Newcastle assistant manager] Jason [Tindall]’s time at Sheffield United, really. So, we’ve been tracking his career the last three years, a player that really excites us. I think he’s got some really good raw ingredients to become a very, very good center forward.”
“He’s got extreme pace, really good physical profile, 6-foot-3 verging on six-foot-four, and he’s got good technical skills as well. And there’s areas of his game to develop, obviously, but I think he’s coming to the right place to do that.”
A versatile young player, Osula can not only play as a target man up front but can also be used as a makeshift winger if there’s a need. The Copenhagen-born forward adds further options to Eddie Howe’s squad going into the season and now joins a talented group of star attacking players at Newcastle that includes veteran Callum Wilson, Bruno Guimaraes, and Alexander Isak.
Osula played against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park last season for Sheffield United and recalled his first experience playing in front of the Newcastle fans. “The experience was crazy, to be fair,” said the 2003-born forward. “Because, the fans as well, amazing. The stadium is so big and it’s loud in there so, I’m very happy to have the fan base on my side now and to play in front of them. It’ll be great.”
One of the surprise breakout teams of the Premier League over the past two seasons, alongside Birmingham-based Aston Villa, Newcastle United entered the summer on the verge of losing some of their brightest talents after a successful campaign. However, just two weeks removed from the start of the domestic season, it seems like the Tyneside club won’t be losing many of its players, if any at all, during this transfer window.
Newcastle United skipper Kieran Trippier, reportedly rumoured to have favoured a move to German giants Bayern Munich this summer, is expected to stay at the club this season. The 33-year-old rejoined his teammates on Wednesday after being given extra time off following his Euro 2024 exploits with England.
Trippier is “not openly looking to leave Newcastle,” according to head coach Eddie Howe, who reiterated on Thursday that he sees a player “fully committed” to the club. Howe, however, acknowledged that there still exists a possibility that anyone could leave the club, including the team’s captain.
“I don’t think Kieran’s openly looking to leave,” said Howe. “He’s been very good in training this week. He’s come back with an ambition to play and fight for his place like every other player does in preseason.”
“I see a player who is fully committed. I see him as a huge part of the team and the squad going forward but while we’re in this moment with FFP affecting the club, there is still the possibility that anyone could leave. I don’t want to talk about individual players but naturally, with incomings, there will be outgoings too.”
Another superstar player that’s been connected with a move elsewhere all summer is Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes. One of the most talented players in the Premier League, the 26-year-old has been linked to Spanish giants Barcelona, defending champions Manchester City and last season’s runners up Arsenal over the last few weeks.
Guimaraes told English media on Thursday that he remains intent on staying at Newcastle and that he’s now adding to the ‘leadership group’ at the club following the departure of fan favourite Matt Richie.
“I’m very happy [at Newcastle],” said Guimaraes. “I never said I would like to leave. I always said I would like to put my name in the club’s history. Nothing has changed for me. I still want to win some trophies.”
“When I signed for the club, I said I wanted to play in the Champions League, and everyone said I was crazy, but we got it. Now I want to be in the Champions League again and win something for the club. The fans deserve it. This is still my dream.”
Newcastle open up their Premier League campaign on Saturday, August 17th as the team host newly-promoted Southampton at St. James’ Park. The match kickoffs at 3pm BST/9am EST.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Richard Humphrey. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.