Highly-rated Sheffield United striker Will Osula is on Bristol Rovers’ longlist for the summer transfer window, Bristol Live understands, with the Norwegian teenager having struck a hat-trick against Bristol City Under-21s this week.
Osula is one of the highest-rated prospects in the Blades academy and has just completed a season on loan at Derby County in League One where he scored two goals in 16 games, just three as a starter, before returning to Bramall Lane.
He was part of the Blades side that thrashed City’s youngsters 4-0 on Monday to secure their place in the Professional Development League 2 final against Millwall. The 19-year-old showed outstanding pace and finishing prowess against the Robins centre-back pairing of Joe Low and Duncan Idehen, both having made senior appearances for City and time on loan in League Two.
Given Sheffield United’s promotion to the Premier League and the Blades likely to invest significant in the first-team on their return to the top-flight, with England Under-20 international Daniel Jebbison also ahead of him in the hierarchy in terms of young talent, Osula is likely going to spend another campaign on loan before he can make a senior impact.
Rovers are monitoring his situation, and similarly Osula is one of a number of targets under consideration in attack, but the Gas have developed an excellent reputation under Joey Barton of providing the right opportunities and environment for young talent to thrive.
Although the forward positions don’t appear an obvious area of weakness for a team that was League One’s 12th overall goalscorers last season, Josh Coburn has returned to Middlesbrough and after they failed to earn promotion via the play-offs could come into Michael Carrick’s thinking for the Championship next season.
Likewise, Rovers have to also devise contingency plans for the prospect of Aaron Collins’ sale, although the Gas are understood to have received no offers for the 25-year-old who, like the rest of the squad, is currently on holiday.
Without Coburn and Collins, that would leave just John Marquis and Ryan Loft plus Scott Sinclair in a supplementary role, so it’s an area of the field that cannot be overlooked in terms of recruitment this summer.
Priorities inevitably remain in the centre of defence and out wide, with Barton frustrated at the lack of wingers at his disposal last season, but the club will be working on multiple deals at once and the order at which they are concluded won’t necessarily represent each players’ importance in the overall picture.
On a similar theme, Rovers would like to secure permanent signings and not lean too heavily on the loan market but it’s an avenue that can’t be completely closed off. Ultimately, while it is still early days in the transfer window with the bulk of the football community on holiday, plans are being formulated for when activity accelerates towards the end of the month and into June.
Rovers are also still to confirm their retained list which will provide greater clarity on the futures of Grant Ward, Josh Grant, Harry Anderson, Calum Macdonald and Anssi Jaakkola. The EFL deadline is Saturday but the club could still wait until next week to publish the details.
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