Champions League side ‘on verge’ of shock £30m Aston Villa striker hijack after Unai Emery’s side agreed deal
The 22-year-old has scored three goals since moving to the Premier League last summer
Promising Newcastle United forward William Osula is reportedly on the verge of completing a shock £30m deadline day move to Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.
Mail Sport reporter Simon Jones broke news this morning that Aston Villa were interested in signing the striker on deadline day after a busy day which has already seen the club agree a loan move for Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho, free agent Victor Lindelof and a £35m deal to land England Under-21 Player of the Tournament Harvey Elliott from big-spending Liverpool.
Osula also starred at the Under-21 European Championships and made a huge impression for Denmark at that tournament in Slovenia, scoring three times in four appearances while also contributing two assists.
The 22-year-old appeared as a substitute for Newcastle against Aston Villa on the opening day of the season as Unai Emery’s men scraped a 0-0 draw, and was notably one of the scorers for the Magpies as they played without Alexander Isak in a thrilling 3-2 defeat to champions Liverpool at St. James’ Park. Osula made his first ever top-flight start for the Magpies against Leeds United in West Yorkshire last time out but failed to find the net in a frustrating 0-0 draw at Elland Road.
Why Aston Villa missed out on William Osula
Aston Villa are in the market for late reinforcements after a lacklustre start to the new season. The Villans drew 0-0 in their opener to Newcastle and failed to register a single shot at goal in the first half before being reduced to 10 men. On matchday two, they were beaten 1-0 by Brentford while their problems only escalated last time out as they were hammered 3-0 by a vastly superior Crystal Palace team at Villa Park.
Unai Emery is frantically scouring the market for reinforcements, including a potential back-up option to Ollie Watkins. Mail Sport reporter Craig Hope believes William Osula was one of the top names under consideration by Emery on deadline day and has even gone as far as to claim that the club had ‘agreed’ a fee to sign the forward.
Hope does not disclose how much Villa were willing to pay for Osula but it’s likely the offer was somewhere in the region of £30m, given that’s how much Frankfurt have now tabled to try and sign the striker.
The Newcastle-based journalist also adds that UEFA’s spending rules complicated Villa’s pursuit of the striker, he explained on X: “Aston Villa had also agreed deal for Will Osula but move was complicated by Uefa spending rules. Frankfurt deal being discussed includes buy-back option for NUFC.”
Why Aston Villa were interested in William Osula
William Osula is a promising 22-year-old that joined Newcastle United from Sheffield United for a figure thought to be in the region of £10m plus a further £5m in add-ons. The 6ft 4in striker was born in Copenhagen and spent six years learning his trade at Sheffield United before completing his move to the North East.
The powerful attacker had an impressive record of 30 goals in 14 games at academy level between 2020 and 2024, but was still very much an unfinished product when he joined the Magpies after scoring only three times in 31 matches for the Blades.
He still remains very raw and has only scored three times in 22 appearances for Newcastle, with only three of those being starts. Despite that, he has displayed signs of promise with quick feet, technical ability and a habit of causing chaos for the opposition in short cameos.
“I think anything is possible for Will,” Eddie Howe said on Friday, via Newcastle World. “I wouldn't want to put any kind of restriction on how he's viewed. We will view him and judge him every day like we do. He's made great strides, I think, in a year. Sometimes you can forget when you're watching someone every day and you're so sort of ingrained in their development, you can forget to see the giant leap that he's made. So I think his game is in a much better place.
“I still think there's more growth to come naturally for someone so young, but he's got ability and he's got a talent and he does score goals.He scores goals regularly in training. He's quick and he's strong, so he's got all the attributes. There will be a time when he has to play regularly to go the next step and he's probably in that moment now.”
However, he did at the time, refuse to rule out a sale, and after adding Nick Woltemade and agreeing a deal for Yoane Wissa, that scenario looks increasingly likely.
Howe said on Friday: “I think that's all for another day. Regular football will be something he needs for his own career at some stage. But whether that's now or in the future, who knows?”
Frankfurt secured Champions League qualification after a third place finish last season and have been in the market for attacking reinforcements since losing Hugo Ektike to Liverpool in the summer and Omar Marmoush to Manchester City in January. Any deal for Osula is likely to include a buy-back clause.