Newcastle see Will Osula as 'calculated gamble' after Eddie Howe's 'third striker' claim

Newcastle United fans got their first proper look at £15 million summer signing Will Osula on Tuesday night in the Carabao Cup game against AFC Wimbledon.

We are barely two months into the new season and Newcastle are already facing a striker crisis with Callum Wilson still unavailable after picking up an injury in pre-season and Alexander Isak nursing a broken toe.

Last season it was painfully obvious that the Magpies couldn't go into this season without extra cover up front, and while Eddie Howe did bring in £15 million Will Osula from Sheffield United, he has been reluctant to start the 21-year-old, instead preferring to play Anthony Gordon up front, referring to the England star as his "third striker".

That leaves Newcastle fans scratching their heads as they see the club in an all-too-familiar position with no striker on the pitch despite having spent £15 million on one in the summer.

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Will Osula's lack of top-level goals are holding him back

Osula was always seen as a 'project player', someone to develop for the future, but the fact that he's not yet trusted to lead the line in the Premier League when the club has no other striker options, speaks volumes.

We like what we have seen from Osula so far. His Sela Cup appearance was decent where we saw him score with a lovely finish before the linesman's flag ruled him offside.

On Tuesday he was lively but starved of service and as such never looked like scoring, and it's that lack of goals that The Athletic claims is why he's currently classed as a 'calculated gamble'.

Jason Tindall played a big part in getting Will Osula to Newcastle

Jason Tindall worked with Osula briefly at Sheffield United and vouched for his quality before Newcastle made their move. His feelings are now being echoed by club insiders who agree that Osula has all the raw ingredients to be a top player.

Unfortunately, it's been determined that while he has the ingredients, there's still a lot of baking to be done before he's ready.

It's therefore highly unlikely we'll see him in the starting XI on Saturday when Newcastle take on Everton, but hopefully we might get another appearance from the bench with a bit more time to have an impact than he got when he came on against Fulham.