Newcastle United followed up the signings of midfielder Christian Atsu and defender Florian Lejeune by completing their third major summer purchase with the addition of Norwich City winger Jacob Murphy for a reported fee of £12 million.
The England U21 international joins the club that he scored twice against last season in the Championship, and Magpies boss Rafa Benitez believes the 22-year-old can really thrive in his new environment:
“He’s a young and talented player and hopefully he can develop even more here. We hope he can show us the passion, commitment and ability that he showed in the Championship last season… It’s the type of player we are looking for.”
The History
Murphy joined Norwich’s youth set-up at the age of 11 and was a member of the side that won the 2012/13 FA Youth Cup.
He made his professional debut as a substitute in an FA Cup tie against Fulham in January 2014, before taking in loan spells at League One side Swindon Town and League Two outfit Southend United during the second half of the 2013/14 season.
The midfielder then joined fellow Championship club Blackpool on loan, producing two goals and a single assist in nine appearances, and also spent time at League One sides Scunthorpe United and Colchester United, where he registered four goals and three assists over 11 matches.
The Canaries decided to send Murphy on a season-long loan to League One outfit Coventry City, where he enjoyed a very successful campaign, totalling nine goals and 10 assists in 40 outings.
Murphy finally got his chance at Carrow Road last season, producing eight goals and eight assists over his 37 league appearances.
He has represented England at U18, U19, U20 and U21 levels and was part of the squad that reached the semi-finals of this summer’s UEFA U21 European Championship.
The Prospects
After making Atsu’s loan move permanent earlier this summer, the addition of Murphy will provide the Magpies with another creative threat out wide.
In Matt Ritchie, Newcastle have an industrious player who can not only provide goals, but who also has the ability to deliver quality into the box.
The former Bournemouth wide man isn’t blessed with pace, though, so Murphy, who is capable of playing on either flank, although he played predominantly down the right for Norwich, should provide a good balance if he operates on the left for Benitez’s side.
Murphy, a boyhood Newcastle fan, is quick, direct, and also has an eye for goal.
When asked what he can bring to his new club, Murphy took the opportunity to outline these qualities and underline his suitability as a Fantasy asset.
“What will I bring? An attacking flair. Pace. I’m very direct and I like to shoot. I like to provide chances for the team. I’m an attacking wide midfielder so I will try my best to get goals and assists for this club.”
Although he is still very raw, and can drift in and out of matches, the 22-year-old looks to have the attributes to thrive under the tutelage of Benitez, who should ensure that Murphy doesn’t neglect his defensive duties, something he has been guilty of in the past.
That will be important, given that Benitez favours a 4-2-3-1 formation in which his wide players need to track back and offer protection in front of the full-backs.
Looking at Murphy’s underlying statistics from last season, he impressively averaged a shot every 29.82 minutes – better than both Ritchie (31.67) and Atsu (43.64).
But while Murphy provided a stronger goal threat, he only managed to produce a key pass every 61.02 minutes, inferior to both Ritchie (44.34) and Atsu (54.17).
The England U21 international may lack slightly in the creativity stakes then, but his goal threat, and specifically the quality of his finishing, make him an intriguing Fantasy prospect.
Murphy’s potential is likely to see him come in at between 5.5 and 6.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), and given Ritchie has the majority of set-piece duties and is on penalties for the Magpies, he may need to come in at the cheaper end of the scale to tempt investment.
But Newcastle attackers are certainly on the radar, with their early fixtures (TOT hud WHM swa STO bha) very favourable following the daunting opener with Spurs.
Dwight Gayle and Ritchie are proven commodities, however, while Murphy has only played one full season in the Championship, so it is difficult to look past the more experienced pair from the off.
Newcastle’s pre-season matches will hopefully provide some insight as to how much faith Benitez has in Murphy.
The potential is clear with his valuation a key factor, but a lack of experience makes him a target to monitor, with team-mates Ritchie and Gayle currently the more assured options.
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