There was a notable, yet expected, absence from the Newcastle United starting line-up for the opening game of the season against Aston Villa, as Alexander Isak was nowhere to be seen.
Whilst speculation over his future continues to dominate the headlines for the Magpies, Eddie Howe’s men had to focus on the game at hand and held the Villans to a 0-0 draw away from home.
Anthony Gordon played through the middle as a makeshift number nine, and there were pros and cons to that call. His pace caused problems and forced Ezri Konsa into committing a foul to be sent off, but his lack of presence in front of goal left the team feeling a bit blunt.
Until Newcastle can either convince Isak to return to action or sign a replacement, Howe should provide Will Osula with an opportunity through the middle.
Why Will Osula should start
The 6 foot 4 attacker is a natural centre-forward who would offer Newcastle a physical presence through the middle of the pitch, and a focal point for the rest of the midfield and attack to play around.
Osula only got one minute off the bench in this draw with Aston Villa, which meant that he did not have enough time to show what he can do on the pitch.
However, the Danish giant did show promise in limited game time last season, with a goal and two assists in two starts in the FA Cup and one goal in 168 minutes of Premier League action, per Sofascore.
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Osula was once described as a “poor man’s (Erling) Haaland” by former teammate Curtis Davies, which sums up the kind of physical play and reference point he can provide as a towering number nine.
In order to facilitate having him in the line-up until a new centre-forward can be signed, though, Howe will have to ruthlessly ditch Harvey Barnes from the side.
Why Harvey Barnes should be dropped
The former Leicester City star played on the left wing, thanks to the need for Gordon to play centrally, but should now be dropped in order to play Gordon in his natural role on the left, opening the space for Osula to start as a natural number nine.
Barnes, who was given a 5/10 player rating by Chronicle Live, did not have a dreadful game, by any means, but it was also not an outstanding display that has made him undroppable.
The right-footed wide man failed to register a shot on target, from three attempts, and failed to complete any of his attempted dribbles, per Sofascore, in his 90 minutes on the pitch.
Minutes
90
Shots
3
Shots on target
0
Dribbles completed
0/2
Pass accuracy
76%
Big chances created
1
Duels won
2/5
As you can see in the table above, Barnes did create one ‘big chance’ for his side, but the rest of his performance left a little bit to be desired.
Since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, Gordon has delivered 21 goals and 16 assists for Newcastle, compared to Barnes’ haul of 14 goals and seven assists for the club in the same time, per Sofascore.
This suggests that it would make more sense for Howe to drop Barnes than Gordon in order to facilitate Osula’s move into the starting XI as a focal point up front, as the latter is more likely to make an impact in front of goal as both a scorer and a creator.
Therefore, the Newcastle head coach should ruthlessly drop Barnes, not Gordon, down to the bench to play with a natural number nine until the club can bring one in, or convince the other one they do have to play.