Will Osula: Only Swap Rules Prevented Villa Move

It was common knowledge last summer that Eintracht Frankfurt had agreed a fee for Will Osula only for Newcastle to pull the plug when Frankfurt wanted a loan with an option to buy.

Whilst there were rumours at the start of this window about Villa's interest in Osula, what has now emerged is that only Uefa's swap rules prevented him moving as part of the Jacob Ramsey deal.

Financial regulations finally work in our favour

Having signed Woltemade and Wissa for a combined £124M it wasn't surprising that the club were willing to entertain offers for Osula who hadn't made a first team breakthrough.

His sub appearances had often come late and the opinion of most fans was that whilst he charged around showing effort it wasn't matched by skill and composure.

However, Frankfurt and Villa's Unai Emery clearly saw something in Will that they believed they could develop and, at a reported price of c£20M, it wasn't a big gamble.

The swap regulations that prevented the deal are to stop clubs manipulating transfer fees in order to comply with Uefa financial regulations.

Because the PL rules aren't as strict, Newcastle and Forest exploited the rules when Elliot Anderson and the Greek keeper swapped clubs. In effect, Anderson was sold for £35M because the Greek keeper was valued at a laughable £20M.

That meant both clubs benefitted from inflated fees for PSR when in effect the keeper was worth £3-£5M at best. He never played in the PL for the club and has disappeared into the ether.

The downside is that Anderson was actually sold for less than £20M and has now departed to City for a staggering £117M.

The extra £20M that went into Newcastle's PSR coffers is a pittance compared to losing a player who was nicknamed the Geordie Maradona during his loan spell at Bristol Rovers and tipped as a future England international by ex Toon player Joey Barton.

However, given that Will Osula ended last season on a goalscoring high, elbowing out Wolt and Wissa from the CF position, we actually have Uefa's swap rules to thank for not losing another player on the cheap who could yet hit the heights in a Toon shirt.

How good is Will Osula?

A common theme amongst blog members is that they are worried about our strike force going into the coming season.

Wolt and Wissa's performances last season don't inspire confidence and many fans are worried that Osula's late season form was a flash in the pan from a player who previously has seemed ungainly and lacking in real quality.

Well, on Will Osula...

I disagree.

For me the lad has bags of skill, a trick or three that can leave defenders bamboozled, and searing pace that absolutely suits Eddie's favoured 4-3-3 quick break system.

He is also aggressive, very aggressive, a trait I love to see in any player and especially forwards who are up against bullying six foot odd defenders game in game out in the PL.

My take is that Osula's early 'run around at 100mph getting nowhere' sub appearances were down to over exhuberance to make an impression, often in just the last five or ten minutes of a game.

When he got his run in the team, was scoring goals, and assured he'd be starting the next match... the real Will Osula that impressed in training came out in the PL.

His wonder goal against Man U was one that any player in the world would have been proud of, and one many players could never ever dream of repeating.

I think there is a top ST in Will Osula.

And, if there is, the financial rules for once will have worked in our favour.

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