Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe is hopeful that Will Osula could be the "complete package" after admitting his relief at not losing him on deadline day.
The 22-year-old striker had been given permission to leave the Denmark under-21s squad as the summer transfer window drew to a close, with Eintracht Frankfurt looking to tie up a £30 million ($39.3m) swoop for a man who had cost the Magpies an initial £10m when he joined from Sheffield United in August 2024.
However, they pulled the plug when the Bundesliga outfit attempted to negotiate a loan move instead and that ultimately worked in their favour when £55m new signing Yoane Wissa suffered a knee injury on international which has since prevented him from kicking a single ball for the club.
Asked how close Osula came to leaving, Howe said: "I think it was well documented it was quite close that he could have left, in a variety of ways, whether that was loan -- which was always our preference.
"We wanted Will to play, we wanted him to continue his development, which he did brilliantly last year because he committed to a path of limited game time, but big training time, a lot of work with [first-team coach] Graeme Jones, a lot of reviewing his performances, then a lot of putting work into action.
"The next step for me was for him to try to play regularly, so that was the aim and especially with us bringing two strikers in, the thought was that he could continue that development best on the football pitch.
"Obviously it didn't happen and much to our relief it didn't happen because Yoane picked up an injury and Will is vitally important.
"We believe in his talent. He has got speed -- I think you could see that when he came on the pitch the other day - he's quick, he's athletic.
"But also I think what he's added just through the continued attitude to his training, a lot better know-how, nous in terms of how to manage game situations.
"He's benefited from that and he's coming on the pitch looking like the complete package."
Osula, who has been nursing an ankle problem, made a significant impact after being introduced as a late substitute in Saturday's 2-1 victory over Fulham at St James' Park, using his pace and power to create the opening from which skipper Bruno Guimarães scored a 90th-minute winner.
- Newcastle's Howe refuses spat with Liverpool's Slot over Isak jibe
- Mourinho heaps praise on Gordon, calls St James' Park 'quiet'
He will hope for further action on Wednesday evening when the holders welcome Tottenham to Tyneside for a Carabao Cup fourth-round tie, a game in which he could be asked to bring his own brand of chaos to proceedings.
Howe said: "He's got all the physical attributes to do it and he's an incredible athlete.
"Obviously he's doing cameos at the moment, we'd love him to be able to sustain that for longer, which is very difficult, but he's got the physical capabilities of delivering that, I think."