Following speculation around Will Osula, Paul Heckingbottom has now finally made a decision on the youngster’s immediate future.
After being recalled from Derby County in the early part of January, there has been plenty of rumours in circulation regarding the young Dane. Some reports, from Alan Nixon, suggested that Sheffield United would be ready to loan Osula to Oxford United, another League One side.
The teenager scored 5 times in 21 appearances in all competitions for the League 1 promotion chasers, but the form of James Collins and former Blade David McGoldrick has seen the Dane get limited minutes of late.
United had a decision to make on Osula, he wasn’t getting the game time Heckingbottom hoped he would get, and the Blades are dealing with limited numbers at the top of the pitch themselves. Now Oli McBurnie has started training with the squad again, which could see Osula on the fringe of first team football once more.
However, the manager this week has confirmed that Osula will not be heading back out on loan, Heckingbottom stated:
“He is suspended at the minute and then he’s cup-tied. So there’s nothing we can do. He got dragged to the floor the other night in the under-21s game and broke his jaw, so we want to see how he is after that. He’s going to stay. We have not got the bodies to be letting people out at the minute, so he’ll be staying.” [Yorkshire Live]
My Verdict
This is not ideal for the player, and for the manager. But keeping Osula at the club right now is for the best, considering that the coaches don’t yet know how Oli McBurnie’s ankle will react when he starts playing again.
The decision also tells me that Sheffield United are not expecting any incomings this window.