In one of few feel-good moments involving Newcastle United at the moment, Jacob Murphy’s late leveller away at Wolves yesterday should be celebrated.
A boyhood Toon fan, it never truly looked like working for the former Norwich City man after his £12m move to St. James’ Park in 2017 as he was turfed out on loan to West Brom and Sheffield Wednesday. Out of contract in the summer, he looked to be out of the picture.
Still, his clever equaliser from a late free-kick has capped off a productive few months for him on Tyneside following good performances in the Carabao Cup convincing Steve Bruce to keep him in his plans. With a change in system offering him the chance to operate either on the right or even as a wing-back, Murphy can surely consider himself part of the first-team set-up these days.
What he needs to avoid now is this becoming his ‘Henri Saivet’ moment. Another complete outcast, the midfielder returned to the starting line-up amid injury problems under Rafa Benitez for a dramatic 3-2 win over West Ham in December 2017 and scored a free-kick himself.
Since, however, he’s failed to kick-on and remained out of the picture at St. James’ Park. Now, given the short amount of time left on Murphy’s deal, he may not become quite the same financial burden Saivet has but there is certainly precedence in a player coming out of the wilderness for a brief glimpse of the big time, only to return to it.
Would you like Murphy to stay?
Yes
No
Hopefully for Murphy, this is the start of something different.