What happens next with Will Osula after Newcastle United forward fluffs audition at St James' Park
Last night was a golden opportunity for young striker Will Osula to send a big message to Eddie Howe after the Danish Under-21 star was handed a rare start for Newcastle United.
Injuries have halted Osula's season after the 22-year-old made a promising start to the campaign when Newcastle had only him and Anthony Gordon as options up front.
Osula has just returned to fitness and has made a few appearances from the bench, but nothing really meaty enough for us to get a good look at him.
After he almost left the club in the summer, Osula has felt he's got a point to prove to Eddie Howe, who he feels had been overlooking him.
Will Osula blew his big opportunity to impress Eddie Howe
Last night, Osula was given a rare start for Newcastle against Qarabag, with Newcastle already 6-1 up in the tie. It was an ideal opportunity for him to use his pace and unpredictable nature to cause Qarabag some problems and show Eddie Howe what he's been missing.
Unfortunately, things couldn't have gone much worse for the youngster. He missed a golden opportunity in the opening minutes, which was eventually tucked away by Sandro Tonali, and then later in the game tried to take a touch instead of unleashing a shot, which resulted in a positive attack fizzling out.
His stats were absolutely shocking, too. In 73 minutes on the pitch, Osula managed just 14 touches of the ball, which was only two more than 18-year-old Leo Shahar, who came on for his debut in the 86th minute. Osula also had the lowest pass accuracy of any Newcastle player at 66.7%, having completed two of his three attempted passes during his time on the pitch.
What do Newcastle United do with Will Osula?
Eddie Howe doesn't seem to have much confidence in Will Osula
So, given that Osula's future has been up in the air for a while following the collapse of his move to Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer, the big question is what happens next?
It definitely feels like Eddie Howe is pretty convinced that Osula isn't a good fit, given how sparingly he has been used since his arrival on Tyneside. We thought that it was perhaps another Lewis Hall situation with Howe taking his time with him, but it's just not clicking this time.
Osula famously mimicked John Cena's famous "You can't see me" move after scoring earlier this season, aimed at the fact that he felt Eddie Howe wasn't giving him a fair shot. Well last night, we bet he wished Eddie couldn't see him.
If we want to give him the benefit of the doubt, he has missed a lot of football this season, and that could be a big reason for the poor performance last night, but we can't help but get the feeling that he'll not be at the club next season.
It's a shame, as I've personally defended Osula to my mates many times, insisting that there's a player there he just needs time, but last night really harmed my case.
