Jacob Murphy “feels amazing”. He said so himself, despite having not hit the heights he did last season, during this campaign. Much like his club, Murphy has been inconsistent, and yet, his words and demeanour revealed a man who is quite clearly enjoying the best period of his footballing career.
When Murphy signed for Newcastle in the summer of 2017, he joined a club who, under Rafa Benitez, were freshly promoted from the Championship, and which looked very different to how it is now.
Mike Ashley held the keys to the club, and even the high of promotion could not fully mask the underlying reality of what Newcastle United was during that period. The frustration, the disappointment, and more often than not, the heartbreak. By October of that year though, Amanda Staveley was spotted at St. James’ Park, in what was the first sign of the change that was to come on Tyneside.
“I’ve had some really good mentors over the years, over the nine years that I’ve been here”, Murphy told North East Football TV ahead of the recent Champions League tie against Qarabag FK. “Matt Ritchie for one, he was amazing for me”, Murphy continued, very keen to mention the former Newcastle United and Scotland winger, who was instrumental both in helping the Magpies return to the top flight in 2017, and then stabilising them there. He was a leader at the club, both on and off the pitch.
Nearly ten years on, Ritchie is still playing professionally for Reading in League One, whereas Murphy is preparing to face Barcelona in the second leg of a Champions League Last 16 fixture.
In mentioning Matt Ritchie, Murphy not only highlighted just how much has changed at Newcastle United in just under a decade, but also he has managed to remain integral to the core of the club, even with all of the development and progress that has occurred.
In that time, Murphy had two loan spells away from the North East, first at West Bromwich Albion during 2019, and then at Sheffield Wednesday for the 2019/20 season. On both occasions, Murphy was taking a step down to play in the Championship, and one would not have blamed him for thinking that his Newcastle United career was all but over, having never really kicked into gear.
It seemed far-fetched, preposterous even, that Jacob Murphy, who had gone to the Championship twice in search of regular football, would once again represent Newcastle, never mind in a Champions League knockout tie. However, what perhaps made Muprhy different to others, were his roots.
Both he and his twin brother Josh grew up in north London, but their mother, from Birtley in Gateshead, clearly made an impression on their young footballing lives. Pictures exist of the two as infants, both adorning Newcastle United shirts from the mid-1990s. Whilst Josh has never been fortunate enough to pull on the famous black and white professionally, Jacob had, and having had that experience, having it again became almost like an itch that needed to be scratched.
His “resurgence”, as Murphy described it, came whilst wearing the blue and white of Sheffield Wednesday. ”Everything started to click for me, and that’s where I feel Jacob Murphy 2.0 was formed”.
Murphy returned to Newcastle from Wednesday in the summer of 2020, with the world stricken by Covid-19, and yet for the winger came “a couple of good seasons under Steve Bruce”, which were then followed by the the arrival of Eddie Howe in November 2021. As Murphy put it, “the gaffer came in and the rest is history.”
History it may be, but Murphy is still very a part of their present, even with the influx of new talent that has signed for the club since Eddie Howe became Head Coach. On Saturday at Stamford Bridge, he captained the club on-field to a one-nil win that reignited Newcastle’s hopes of European qualification via the Premier League this season. Much has been said and written of Blyth-born Dan Burn captaining the side in recent times, and of course, scoring at Wembley, but for Murphy, a boyhood Mag just like Burn, this was his moment.
Such a privilege came from Muprhy being elected into Newcastle United’s leadership group. Having such responsibility Murphy said was “awesome”, and he believes that he has brought a positive contribution to the group, which features players such as Bruno Guimarães, Kieran Trippier, Nick Pope and Burn.
Having become part of such esteemed company thanks to the votes of his fellow professionals, Murphy revealed that Matt Ritchie was “one of the first people I reached out to, and he said he had sensed them qualities in me from early on”. Quite fitting, it’s fair to say.
Perhaps it is the influence of Matt Ritchie, combined with Murphy’s Geordie upbringing, that have made him both the player and the person he is today. His delivery into the box and his eye for goal are qualities Ritchie also demonstrated at the peak of his powers in a black and white shirt, but also the passion, the willingness to succeed, were traits very much etched into Ritchie that Murphy displays now.
All of that will be needed when Murphy and Newcastle United step out at the Camp Nou to face Barcelona, with a place in the Quarter Finals of the Champions League at stake. This match represents the chance for this iteration of the club, with the current core (of which Murphy is a part), to climb to quite possibly their greatest height. Three years ago in 2023, as Newcastle lined up for the Champions League music at the San Siro, ahead of their return to the competition after 20 years, Muprhy’s beaming smile, infused with pride, excitement and emotion, was caught on camera for all to see. If such a smile is seen at the Camp Nou, it will signify that Newcastle United have reached the last eight, with Murphy very much at the heart of it all.
