Sheffield United’s Will Osula financial interest clarified as Bayern Munich join Newcastle United transfer race

Will Osula’s rise to prominence may have truly happened after he left Sheffield United, but the Blades retained a financial interest in the striker when he moved to Newcastle United two summers ago. The Premier League side paid an initial £10m fee for the then-unproven Danish striker.

The deal United negotiated included a range of performance-related add-ons and, crucially, a sell-on clause should he move on from St. James’ Park for more than the fee Newcastle paid in the future.

Although the exact percentage has not been disclosed, it would represent a significant sum should Osula go on to realise his potential - with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich the latest club to be linked with him this week.

Bayer Leverkusen are also said to be keeping tabs on a player who was close to a £30m move to Frankfurt not too long back which would have landed the Blades a few more million pounds at a handy time.

Sell-on clauses typically work as a percentage of the profit the selling club makes on a player, meaning United’s chunk would be calculated on whatever Newcastle make minus their £10m initial investment.

Depending on the terms of their arrangement, there is also a chance that any outstanding add-ons in the deal also become payable upon a sale. At a time when United are tightening their belts after the expiry of their parachute payments, any windfall would be an undoubted bonus.

There has been talk in the north east of Newcastle potentially considering a sale of Osula this summer to raise funds to spend elsewhere. But boss Eddie Howe recently insisted he wants the striker to be part of his plans for the new season.

It seems feasible that any sale would not be cheap, therefore, which would only play into United’s hands as they eye a second windfall from the sale of a striker who didn’t score a league goal for them during his time at the Blades.

But he has impressed on Tyneside and has since justified Newcastle’s investment by jumping ahead of £124million summer signings Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa in the pecking order, scoring three goals in his last five Premier League games.

“I'd definitely like to keep him,” Howe said recently of Osula. “I think Will's a player of really rich promise, and he was when we signed him. We signed him with the view of developing him to try and build him to become a Premier League player, because that certainly wasn't the player that we recruited.

“There was a lot of work and time that's gone into his development. Graeme Jones, Jason Tindall have done an incredible job helping his development, analysing his game, feeding back to him, and Will's done really well to stay stable, level, and commit to that development and see the longer-term plan.

“It’s great to see, then, when he comes into the team and gets an opportunity that he grabs it. He's very hungry, he's very motivated, he believes in himself. I think he's maturing nicely. There are a lot of other players waiting for an opportunity, so he knows he has to perform.”