Newcastle's £300m-plus announcement to come and the club's huge PSR asset as 'gems' targeted


Newcastle United will announce record-breaking revenues north of £300m when the club's latest accounts are eventually published, but there remains a huge gap to bridge on the established order, who bring in hundreds of millions more. That is why Eddie Howe and his staff remain one of Newcastle's biggest PSR assets.

After all, how many players, inherited or imported, have improved on their watch? Darren Eales had a huge body of evidence to support that point when the Newcastle CEO said Howe was a 'great developer' last summer while Lewis Hall, who came through the ranks at Chelsea, even revealed he 'never had that level of coaching'.

Paul Mitchell has since added that Howe is 'super impressive on the grass', having had 'plenty of context', after previously working with Julian Nagelsmann, Mauricio Pochettino and others, and the sporting director is targeting younger, undervalued talent in 2025 who can blossom in the right hands as well as players who can compete for a starting berth under Howe.

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"I would probably say that will be something that will be on our lips," Howe told reporters. "We have to find untapped gems and we have to try and develop players to become top players, but I think there needs to be a mix in our recruitment. I don't think there will be any one profile where that's the standard bearer signing.

"We're going to need more readymade players. We're going to need to bring in young players that you can develop. I think you need a mix."

That is why you won't suddenly see Newcastle sign five William Osulas next summer. This is a player Howe's inner circle had tracked since Jason Tindall's brief spell as an assistant at Sheffield United, but they knew they would 'have to go to work' with him. As former Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom previously told ChronicleLive: "He's nowhere near ready to lead the line from day one and play a lot of minutes for the club...they know they're buying a project."

That need for patience was one of the reasons why Howe referred to winger Anthony Gordon as Newcastle's 'third-choice striker', behind Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson, but Osula has the desire and raw ingredients to get better. Staff at Sheffield United even noted how Osula was the first in at training and the last one off the grass during his time at the club and the 21-year-old's work ethic will serve him well at Newcastle.

Osula already feels that he is improving as a result of 'top training' at Newcastle where 'every day is 100%'. The challenge moving forward will be taking that learning out on to the pitch on a match day - to be able to hold the ball up and bring others into play, to be able to lead the press effectively, to become someone who can be counted on to affect games.

William Osula battles with Riley Harbottle
William Osula battles with Riley Harbottle

Osula has shown glimpses in training up against seasoned Premier League centre-backs and has the ability to make it uncomfortable for them with his physicality and pace, but this is a player who understandably needs time to knit it all together. In the first half of his full competitive Newcastle debut against AFC Wimbledon, for instance, the rapid Osula got in behind the Dons' defence after racing on to Miguel Almiron's pass, but the striker was unable to get the ball out of his feet to get a shot away. In the second half, meanwhile, Osula expertly spun away from Riley Harbottle inside the area at one point, but the Dane then failed to hit the target.

Osula was certainly not afraid to have a go - no Newcastle player had more shots (three) - and the 21-year-old's head never dropped on Tuesday. In fact, Osula grew into the game as the night wore on and supporters even started singing his name to the tune of the Champs hit 'Tequila'. Not for the last time, you suspect.