Will Osula’s brace will have done him world of good – Newcastle boss Eddie Howe | OneFootball

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has put striker Will Osula on red alert for the Premier League after seeing him score twice as the holders booked their place in the Carabao Cup fourth round with a 4-1 win against Bradford.

The 22-year-old Dane scored the Magpies’ second and final goals against the League One leaders at St James’ Park to highlight his development, and with record signing Nick Woltemade still coming to terms with English football and Yoane Wissa injured, he has been told he could get his chance amid a hectic schedule.

Asked how close Osula is to starting a league game, Howe said: “It depends on my team selection, obviously. He’s done himself no harm today. That will have done him the world of good on so many different levels.

“As a striker, you need to have that feeling. This was an opportunity he needed to grab and he did. It’s the same for any player, so he puts himself very much in the forefront of my thoughts.”

Osula arrived at the club from Sheffield United as a raw youngster last summer, and Howe and his coaches have since gone to work with him on the training ground.

Howe said: “He’s very driven. Will has a great attitude to his work, to his career. He’s very ambitious, he wants to play as all players do.

“But I think he’s now justifying that by his training performances. We’ve done a lot of work with him and we’ll continue to do that for his benefit to try and get him to be the very best player he can be.”

Newcastle largely dominated throughout and the game was effectively over when Joelinton and Osula struck after 17 and 19 minutes respectively.

However, thanks to the efforts of City goalkeeper Sam Walker and some sub-standard finishing, they had to wait until the 75th minute for the Brazilian to make it 3-0, and although lifelong Magpies fan Andy Cook reduced the deficit, Osula scored again at the death to wrap up a comfortable win.

Howe said: “It was always going to be a difficult game. Nobody makes anything easy for you.

“Bradford are top of their league and full of confidence, so we needed an element of patience in our performance. But once we got into our groove, we were good.”

Opposite number Graham Alexander, who played under Howe during his spell in charge at Burnley, was happy with much of what he saw from his side on a difficult night on Tyneside.

Asked what they had learned, he said with a smile: “We learned what a Champions League team looks like up close.”

On Cook’s goal, he added: “He’s a proper lad, he’s been a big player for this club for the last three or four years and everyone knows about his support for Newcastle, but he’s also got a massive bond with our club as well, so it was a special night for Cooky just getting on the pitch.

“But that’s a goal he’ll be talking about for the next 50 years, I expect.”