Aston Villa’s next January transfer could be a blockbuster £30m gamble – for them and Newcastle

For all that the last few seasons have generally exceeded all reasonable expectations, there has been one small, persistent headache that Aston Villa have never quite been able to get rid of – the question of how to find and retain a back-up for Ollie Watkins up front.

Jhon Durán’s short and explosive spell at Villa Park highlighted the issue that Unai Emery has had in finding a supporting act for a clear-cut number one up in the striker’s role. Too good, and the player wants to leave to find some minutes. Too young (or simply too far below Watkins’ standards) and they aren’t worth having around. It’s a balancing act that Villa have yet to get exactly right.

Now, a new story in the British press suggests that they’re ready to take another stab at finding their middle ground in the shape of up-and-coming Newcastle striker William Osula. But would the 22-year-old fit the bill, and will they really be able to sign him this January?

Why William Osula could be what Aston Villa need to cement their top four spot this season

Despite a slow start to the 2025/26 season, Watkins remains Aston Villa’s undisputed centre-forward of choice. Behind him, however, there remains something of a void.

Experiments with using players like Donyell Malen in the number nine role haven’t yielded the desired results, and there is a clear vacancy for Watkins’ deputy – and in truth, has been since Durán left for Saudi Arabia a year ago.

TalkSport now suggest that Villa have turned their attention to a deal for Osula after failing to get anywhere with a bid for Real Madrid back-up Gonzalo García, a player who has been on several Premier League shortlists but who now seems unlikely to leave the Bernabeu this winter. Osula could be Villa’s Plan B.

Osula’s position at Newcastle, meanwhile, is somewhat tenuous. The young Dane has made 14 appearances this season but only two of them have been starts and with summer signings Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade competing for minutes up front, there is little room left for Osula.

He had been expected to leave for Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer but a deal fell through at the eleventh hour and while the German outfit are still interested (at least according to outlets including NewcastleWorld) they have already signed two forwards this January and a revivification of the deal seems more distant than it did a week or so ago. That could leave the door ajar for Villa.

Ask most observers of Newcastle why Osula isn’t further ahead in the pecking order and most responses would mention his rawness and a lack of composure and certainty in front of goal, but in his limited chances this season Osula has suggested that he might be rather sharper than his role in Eddie Howe’s squad suggests – he has five goals in the last two seasons, which doesn’t seem like much, but has only been given five starts and has scored those goals at the equivalent rate of better than a goal every other game.

Osula has, in other words, looked rather more incisive and match-ready than might have been suggested by his disappointing loan spell at Sheffield United in the 2023/24 season, for instance. Combined with his unquestionably impressive pace, movement and work rate, and he begins to look like the kind of gamble Villa would be very justified in taking – high upside, but raw enough that a back-up role to Watkins would not be an unreasonable position for him to take up.

If it goes well, he could be the source of extra goals (and relief for Watkins’ overused legs) which gives Villa the platform to push on for another year in the Champions League – and if it goes poorly, then it wouldn’t affect Watkins’ position or scoring. On paper, it’s a smart move. But is it one which will actually happen?

Will Aston Villa sign Newcastle’s Osula in the January transfer window?

Newcastle’s willingness to sell Osula in the summer strongly suggests that they wouldn’t stand in the youngster’s way were a side like Villa to come in – but it may not be a cheap deal to make.

Most sources suggested that the Frankfurt deal would have been worth up to around £30m with add-ons, and it’s likely that at least as much and perhaps more would be demanded of a Premier League rival in the middle of the season.

That could be an issue for Villa, whose PSR position isn’t the best and who only narrowly swerved a potential breach of the regulations by leaping through some loopholes last summer and selling their women’s team to their owner’s holding company. A deal could likely be structured in such a way that it was possible, but it would certainly complicate negotiations with Newcastle.

It's also hard to judge whether Osula himself would truly be open to a move where he would be playing second fiddle. At Frankfurt, it was realistic for him to imagine himself forcing his way into a regular starting spot in short order. At Villa, Watkins will take some serious work to dislodge even if it took him a while to get going this season.

There is, as yet, no suggestion that a formal offer has been made and it’s not clear whether Osula is one name on a shortlist or the primary target now that García appears to be out of the question – and nor has TalkSport’s story been corroborated by other media outlets yet. There is always the chance that it is simply wide of the mark.

As it stands, this is a transfer deal which makes sense on paper but which has many barriers to its completion. Should an offer arrive and an agreement be reached, however, it will be fascinating to finally get a clear picture of just how far Osula has come over the past two seasons, and whether he’s ready to live up to his prodigious natural talent. This is the kind of deal that Newcastle could easily regret down the line – or feel entirely justified about once the dust has settled.