Osula set to stay at Newcastle and play central role after Bundesliga links fade

William Osula is set to stay at Newcastle United for the 2025-26 season, ending months of speculation over his future at St. James’ Park after a proposed January move to Eintracht Frankfurt broke down in the final days of the winter window.

The Danish forward had been heavily linked with a Bundesliga switch throughout last season, with Frankfurt identifying him as a priority target. When that deal collapsed, Osula remained on Tyneside and responded with seven goals from eight starts during the run-in — a return that has shaped how new head coach Matthias Jaissle views him heading into the new campaign.

Osula has carried that form into pre-season, featuring prominently in summer preparations and catching the eye in a 1-1 friendly draw against Strasbourg, where his direct running and aggressive pressing troubled the French side’s defence throughout.

Jaissle’s tactical preferences appear well-suited to Osula’s physical profile. In previous managerial roles, the German coach has favoured a two-centre-forward system designed to unsettle opposition backlines — pairing an athletic, line-stretching runner with a forward who drops into pockets of space to link midfield and attack. Osula fits the first role, with Nick Woltemade expected to fulfil the second.

“We’ve already learned [Jaissle’s] play styles in and out of possession and how he likes to play tactically. It has been good,” Osula told BBC Radio Newcastle. “I want to continue to show what I can do, remain confident. I know what I can do on the pitch so it’s just keeping doing that.”

Newcastle are without European football this season, meaning their strikers will carry a heavier goalscoring burden across the Premier League and domestic cup competitions. Osula is understood to be in line for a starting role from the off — a significant step up from the bit-part appearances that defined his earlier seasons at the club — with the campaign opening against Liverpool this weekend.

With his immediate future resolved and a head coach who has built a system around his specific qualities, Osula enters the season with a clearer path to regular first-team football than at any previous point in his Newcastle career.