Newcastle United coach Eddie Howe has confirmed that he wants to keep former Denmark U21 international of Nigerian descent William Osula at St James' Park next season.

German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt narrowly missed out on signing Osula on deadline day during the summer transfer window and also considered a loan move for the forward in January.

Aston Villa have also been credited with an interest in the Danish-Nigerian attacker but UEFA's financial rules prevented the deal from materializing. 

After playing a peripheral role for much of the season, Osula forced his way into Newcastle United’s starting line-up last month and has since repaid Howe's faith with three goals in his last four Premier League starts.

Responding to questions on Osula's future, Howe revealed that the dual-national player features in his plans for the 2026–2027 season.

In quotes relayed by The Shields Gazzette, he said: "I'd definitely like to keep him. I think Will's a player of really rich promise, and he was when we signed him.

"We signed him with the view of developing him to try and build him to become a Premier League player, because that certainly wasn't the player that we recruited.

"There was a lot of work and time that's gone into his development. Graeme Jones, Jason Tindall have done an incredible job helping his development, analysing his game, feeding back to him, and Will's done really well to stay stable, level, and commit to that development and see the longer-term plan.

"Great to see, then, when he comes into the team and gets an opportunity that he grabs it. He's very hungry, he's very motivated, he believes in himself."

Signed from Sheffield United in August 2024, Osula has a contract with Newcastle United until the end of the 2029-2030 season.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: newcastleunited.com