Is it time for Eddie Howe to start trusting William Osula at Newcastle?

National World - LocalTV

Daniel Wales and Joe Buck discuss William Osula.

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00:00I think that with them obviously not playing until Monday night as well probably helps

00:04them in that, that if they'll get that extra couple of days. I think the main concern with

00:09Isak and Schalke, of course, any injury to them two is a particular concern, especially

00:14Isak, but I think it's just the threadbare nature of the squad, really. There's not too

00:19much depth there. Obviously, Callum Wilson came on, but he barely got a kick and he hasn't

00:22really had a kick, to be honest, in any of the Premier League games he's had this year.

00:26So it's one of them, you don't want to lose any player, particularly them two. If you're

00:31going to lose them for any match, is Leicester away maybe the best one to lose them for,

00:36possibly. But yeah, hopefully they're fine. Anyhow, I did see the suggestion of a final,

00:41so you'll address the media on Friday morning and I'm sure they'll be asked for updates

00:45then. But yeah, the only slight negative from yesterday was their injuries, but other than

00:52that, it was probably the perfect response you would have wanted from the Carabao Cubs

00:56that they've got the win. And most of the players have come through relatively unscathed.

01:00And to be fair to Joel Inton, especially when he went down injured, I'd already prepped

01:03a line about suspension, because he's obviously one game away from two-game suspension. So

01:09you kind of think they might lose him at some point in the future. He's got sort of three

01:13more games to survive without Bougain and non-Joel Inton. And that will be a tricky

01:19task for him. But yeah, hopefully Isak Tribune and Joel Inton are all fit for Monday, because

01:24any of those three are going to be a big miss.

01:27Yeah. Now you mentioned Callum Wilson. I think that's an interesting point because he came

01:31on and he has come on in the last few games as well and not, let's be honest, done an

01:36awful lot. Run around a bit, sort of put a bit of pressure on players, but not really

01:41held the ball up too well or been so much of a goal threat. But with that being said,

01:47is it time to start trusting Willa Sula from the bench? Because yes, he's Roe, he's not

01:52a finished product by any means. But in terms of his dynamism, his speed, even his strength

01:58and a bit of skill as well, is it perhaps fair to say that he would now offer a bit

02:03more than Callum Wilson? I understand obviously Wilson has the experience, yes, and the goal

02:07scoring sort of know-how, given his record. But Sula, just with his legs and his pace

02:14and his rawness, freshness, is that not more of a threat to the opposition in those sort

02:18of final moments of the game than, let's be honest, a bit of a jaded Callum Wilson?

02:22Yeah, it's a really hard one. I think, as you say, if you're a defender, you'd probably

02:27rather play against Callum Wilson because, as you say, Sula's got that pace, the physicality.

02:32And to be fair, sometimes you look at him and he doesn't really know, he doesn't seem

02:35to know what he's going to do with the ball. Therefore, how is a defender going to know?

02:39But also, you know, in games like yesterday, you want, if the ball's going to fall to anyone

02:45in the box, do you want it to be Callum Wilson? Has he shown that this year? Maybe not. You

02:49know, he missed a couple of chances against Liverpool back in February, but you still

02:53want that Wilson on the pitch for that moment. Like, for example, if that Tonali Cross had

02:58gone into the box rather than into the net, you'd want Callum Wilson maybe on the end

03:02of it. So it's a really hard one for anyhow. I know why I trust Callum Wilson. I've obviously

03:07worked with him for a long time at Bournemouth and obviously at Newcastle. It's a hard one.

03:12I think with nine games to go and obviously Wilson's contract comes to an end, I don't

03:17think that'll change between now and the end of the season. I do think Wilson will be the

03:20man that gets thrown on, you know, with 20, 30 minutes to go to give Alexander-Ezekiel

03:25rest. What his contract situation looks like next season, I'm not too sure. I don't think

03:31an extension may be offered, but of course that might change. But yeah, I think it probably

03:35comes just a little bit too early for Asula, but hopefully he can have a good pre-season

03:40behind him. We've seen what a good pre-season can do for people like Tonali, Lewis Hall

03:43for example, you know, he was sort of in a similar position last year and now he's fired.

03:47So hopefully with a full season and then another pre-season behind him, Asula can really begin

03:52to show the quality he has shown in the odd games yet, because he has looked really good.

03:56Of course, the caveat with that is the coming games against Birmingham City, against Bromley.

04:00But yeah, he is an exciting talent, but I do agree with, and I do think Howard's making

04:06the right decision and not throwing him in just yet, especially in tight games. Maybe

04:10if you're two or three goals up at some time, but in tight games like against Brentford,

04:14I think Wilson is the right one to go with.

04:16That makes sense. Yes, as I say, it's just, it probably is a bit frustrating for Asula,

04:20but at the same time, I think if he sees how Lewis Hall didn't really get a lot of chances

04:24last season, and then how sort of working with him on the training ground sort of has

04:29developed Lewis Hall to the extent where he is probably England's best left back, for

04:37Asula at least, it's going to be a case where, yeah, things should be good at least come

04:42next season, as long as he gets a good pre-season into him.

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