'No hesistation': Eddie Howe now says £15m summer signing is ready to step up when needed

This season has been a huge test of Newcastle United fans' patience so far, and one thing that has bugged us at NUFC Feed in particular has been Eddie Howe's insistence on playing Anthony Gordon out of position when Alexander Isak has been injured despite having a striker on the bench.

Newcastle signed Will Osula from Sheffield United in the summer, and while he may not yet have a Premier League goal to his name, he does have match esxperience with the Blades.

Osula is 21, not some 15-year-old who needs protecting, he may not be Eddie Howe fit, but surely he's fit enough, prepared enough, and experienced enough to deputise when we have no other strikers available.

We saw a similar tactic employed with Lewis Hall last season, making him ride the bench with very little actual game time, and in fairness, that has worked wonders for the former Chelsea man, so we can see what Howe is doing, but surely, a striker on the pitch is better than a winger playing out of position and having to change the entire shape of the team?

Eddie Howe has hinted at upcoming game time for Will Osula

On Friday, Eddie Howe addressed the future of Will Osula and oddly claimed there'd be 'no hesitation' in putting him on the pitch if needed. There has been plenty of hesitation thus far, so is this another Eddie Howe whopper or has something changed?

"Obviously Callum's injury is a blow in respect of our strength and depth in that position but I think Alex at the moment, touch wood is fit, looking good, scoring goals and playing well.

"We're doing a lot of work with Will behind the scenes and he's progressing nicely so I'd have no hesitation in playing him as well. So I think we have two - and then a variety of options behind that - which hopefully we won't have to use."

Change can be a good thing, Eddie

Maybe this now means we're going to see more of Will Osula in the coming weeks, especially as we kick-off a three-game week against Leicester today.

We're obviously not suggesting that Osula should replace Alexander Isak in the team just for the sake of getting him some game time. Each game this week is huge for our season and we need our best players on the pitch, but if there are any opportunities to rest Isak and give Osula a run out, then they should be taken.

Rotation is something Eddie Howe's not really had much chance to employ of late, so it's a bit of a foreign concept, but if we have the means, we should take advantage. If Osula turns out to be pants, then at least we'll know.