Can Newcastle United afford to loan prodigy forward in January Transfer Window?

Newcastle's summer transfer window was a much colder one than the club had expected. With the Magpies failing to land their desired reinforcements till the deadline day, missing out on Marc Guehi and Anthony Elanga, the club didn't look much better than last season. However, they did invest in the 21-year-old prodigy forward William Osula, completing his transfer move from Sheffield for £10 million.

Can Newcastle United afford to loan prodigy forward in January Transfer Window?

While it was certainly clear that the Tyneside club looked at him more as a project player rather than a readymade star, his recent performance has shown he needs much game time for improvement. While debuting for the Magpies club in the starting XI, Osula did showcase his potential in some instances but it looked much clearer that his talent needs significant improvisations.

In such a scenario, with it being clear that Osula, despite having the talent, needs game time to prove his place in the Magpies XI, a loan option could be a viable one for the forward. In fact, reports from iNews do indicate such a possibility, with the Magpies considering a loan move in January for him. However, executing this might not be as easy as it seems.

Analyzing from Newcastle's perspective, their priority forward, Alexander Isak, has been much out of form recently, and the replacement striker, Callum Wilson, is injured. Given that the club didn't pursue any other option in the summer window, they have no other backing left for the role apart from depending on Isak.

While it is certain that Wilson might return much sooner than the January window arrives, he hadn't discarded the possibility of a move in the next summer window, further pushing Magpies to consider a backup before deciding on Osula's future. Further, what complicates the club's situation is that considering their current woes, they might have different priorities for the winter window.

Considering the current scenario in which Gordon has switched to the right wing, with no conventional player performing convincingly on the flank, Eddie Howe might prefer a wing reinforcement ahead of a forward. Thus, as it appears, Newcastle United needs to make major arrangements for a backup forward in case they want to loan Osula otherwise they might face problems.