Eddie Howe will hope a late 2-1 win picked up over the weekend by his Newcastle United troops spurs his side onto a positive patch of form in the Premier League.

It’s been a bumpy campaign so far for the Toon, with three wins, three draws, and three defeats collected in league action. But, with two home wins on the spin now in the challenging terrain of the top-flight, the time is surely right for the Magpies to make strides up the early league standings, away from their current middle-of-the-road 11th position.

Bruno Guimaraes would be showered with praise come the full-time whistle against Fulham, as his quick thinking to be alert to a spill from Bernd Leno saw him slot home a late rebound to seal a 2-1 win.

But, he isn’t the only star capable of such joyous moments in Howe’s talented camp, with Nick Woltemade sticking out as another noticeable bright spark, even if his new side hasn’t been picking up victories galore since he arrived from Stuttgart.

Why Woltemade is already key for Newcastle

The 6-foot-6 menace didn’t get on the scoresheet against Marco Silva’s visitors, but he was still lively in spurts against the Cottagers.

Indeed, Woltemade would smack the post with an effort that looked to be heading goalbound after just four minutes had been played, with the commanding number 27 also putting his towering frame to good use when shoving off Fulham defenders to play in the likes of Anthony Gordon and others next to him in the attacking positions.

Woltemade was at the heart of Harvey Barnes’ strike mid-week, too, with an audacious flick ending in the ex-Leicester City man confidently firing home this effort in the Champions League.

This is before you even mention that the clinical 23-year-old also has four Premier League goals next to his name already, with the decision to fork out a steep £69m on the ex-Bundesliga goal machine looking to now be a smart one, particularly as Newcastle desperately needed a potent marksman to fill the hole left behind by Alexander Isak.

However, as much as Woltemade has stood out as an influential presence so far, he isn’t the only ace in attack capable of altering games at a moment’s notice, with this other gem at Howe’s disposal also now being lauded for being a game-changing spark.

Howe has unearthed a new "game-changer"

Howe very much had the options on his substitutes bench to thank for the Fulham game being turned on its head in the final moments.

The 47-year-old looked to both Fabian Schar and Sandro Tonali late on as injuries and tired legs crept into his XI, while the ex-AFC Bournemouth boss was also well-equipped to throw on William Osula in place of Woltemade for the final exchanges, knowing that he would terrorise the away side’s fatigued defence with his unbounded energy, with journalist Jordan Cronin even going as far as to state that he was a “game changer” on the day.

Without the Dane’s frightening energy, Newcastle might well have just settled for a share of the points.

Instead, with Osula managing to tally up two shots from his short-lived cameo and two recoveries of the ball to push his fading team up the pitch, a much-needed win was dramatically secured, with the “chaotic” 22-year-old the “perfect” player to mount such a late comeback, according to Newcastle-based writer Thomas Hammond.

Games played

31

Minutes played

693 mins

Goals scored

5

Assists

3

The Denmark U21 international has had to become content with being an impact player for the Toon, with 34 of his 44 Premier League appearances to date on Tyneside coming from off the bench.

Still, it suits the forceful number 18’s game, with Osula even being referred to previously as a “poor man’s Haaland” by his ex-teammate in Curtis Davies, for how dangerous he can be in a flash.

Osula will just want to keep plugging away at St James’ Park, with the attacker who works “tirelessly” for his team’s cause, as Howe put it, very much in the Newcastle good books currently, next to Woltemade.