Newcastle's £10m gamble as Paul Mitchell closes in on first signing for the club
by Jake Jackman · 5 August 2024, 13:21
The transfer window continues to rumble and Newcastle United continue to stumble. There are growing fears on social media about the lack of first team investment made by the club this summer. The hope is that a centre back and right winger will be signed to strengthen the starting options available to Eddie Howe. However, the more time that passes, the less trust is given to those in the hierarchy.
The delays are likely caused by the sporting director appointment of Paul Mitchell. Had we waited until the end of the window to appoint him, it is likely more business would have been concluded. That doesn’t mean it would have been the right business though and the expertise of the new man should help us make the correct decisions. The time to judge will be when the window closes, even if frustration at the time of writing is understandable.
There is likely to be a first team signing made in the coming days though, as Sheffield United forward William Osula closes in on a move to St James’ Park after arriving on Tyneside for his medical. The Danish youth international will join for £10 million, with a potential for an additional £5 million in add-ons. If the latter part is paid, it would have been a successful deal for the club, so we should judge it on the initial fee for now.
Going into the summer, the striker position needed to be looked at. Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson have struggled to hold down the position between them, due to injuries. The former is more robust than the latter, but he is still a player who needs to be managed. That becomes impossible if his deputy is injured. It was speculated that Wilson would be moved on this summer and a replacement signed, but that looks unlikely at this point in time.
If Wilson is to stay at the club, it was imperative that the club signed another striker and the pending signing of Osula shows the hierarchy agree. The deal has had a mixed reaction online. There are some that can see his potential and are excited to see how he can develop at St James’ Park. There are others who see only seven domestic goals to his name, with five coming in cup competitions and believe he is too raw for our squad.
There is some merit to both sides of the argument. If you look at Osula’s stats, there isn’t much to get excited about. That said, it is worth pointing out that he played in a very poor Sheffield United side last season. For a young player, it is tough to show your quality in a team being outclassed every week.
Osula will be seen as a calculated gamble by the recruitment team. Since the takeover, we have invested a lot in the recruitment and scouting department, with several talented individuals brought into the process. We need to put some trust in these people, as we will never get to the top if we only buy established players. Mitchell and his team need to find value in the transfer market, either to develop for our first team or to sell on for PSR reasons.
The Sheffield United striker could be one that fills both criteria. He is 6’4″, with good pace and is very good in the air. Osula’s main attraction will be his physical attributes. He is very raw technically, but based on his physicality, he is similar to Alexander Isak.
Mitchell will be hoping that Eddie Howe can develop Osula on the training ground, in a similar way to how others have benefitted from the head coach. If he manages it, the Scandinavian forward would quickly see his value swell. That could lead to a sizable PSR profit in a couple of years.
For the current season, he will be our third choice striker and that will be an important role. Some doubt whether he is good enough for the role, but it is a very difficult position to recruit for. Trying to find a reliable scorer, with the physical attributes we need and the willingness to be behind two senior strikers in the pecking order is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Howe and the recruitment team won’t have wanted to allocate big funds to this position, as we have much higher priorities. Therefore, the focus will have been on young forwards without much of a senior record to speak of. The attributes we crave become the important factors and Osula certainly has them.
As the new season approaches, the club will surely add some big pieces to the first team squad. It is necessary if they want to push back into European places. However, it is difficult to be overly critical of the Osula deal. We are recruiting a player with potential to fill a role we had nobody for last season and the fee is a low one. It can only be seen as a positive. If he doesn’t step up, we will likely be able to make our money back at the very minimum.
