Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce says he will not be sending Jacob Murphy out on loan this season, following the winger’s performance in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win at Morecambe.
Murphy produced an outstanding performance as the Magpies routed the League Two side 7-0, scoring a stunning effort from outside the box to put his side 3-0 up, having already provided an assist for Miguel Almiron to score Newcastle’s second on the night.
Sheffield Wednesday are reportedly keen to re-sign Murphy on a second consecutive loan deal after last season, but it seems as though the winger’s showing against the Shrimps has ruled out any chance of that happening.
Speaking about Murphy following that emphatic win on the Fylde Coast, Bruce was quoted by The Chronicle as saying: “I won’t be letting him out on loan! Not after a performance like that.
“He deserves to stay with us and he has improved enormously. I have been very, very pleased even though he didn’t make the squad for the weekend.
“We have 20 odd players to choose from. But at this particular moment I won’t be letting Jacob go on loan.”
As things stand, there are just under 12 months remaining on Murphy’s contract with Newcastle, meaning this season is his last chance to impress enough to earn an extended deal at St James’ Park.
Admittedly, Morecambe were never really going to prove a major challenge for Newcastle, but that shouldn’t take away from Murphy’s performance one Wednesday night.
The 25-year-old was a constant threat throughout the course of the 90 minutes, always looking as though he was going to cause trouble for the opposition, and his goal was a simply brilliant finish.
As a result, you can’t blame Bruce for wanting to keep him at the club for the rest of the campaign.
But if he is to do that, then you feel Bruce must use him, considering both the potential he showed at Morecambe, and the fact that he now deserves his chance to earn his place in the side and potentially a new deal with the club, since they are not giving him the opportunity to do that somewhere else.