In Newcastle United’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur last month, Jacob Murphy took to the field for his first Premier League appearance in 20 months. It may have only been a 16-minute substitute appearance but it was indicative of Murphy having played his way back into contention under Steve Bruce.
A promising pre-season with the first-team, following a loan spell in the Championship with Sheffield Wednesday where he scored nine goals, meant Murphy has featured in each of Newcastle’s three Carabao Cup ties so far this season. The 24-year-old came off the bench in the 1-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers and was excellent in the 7-0 demolition of Morecambe in the third round, grabbing a goal and an assist.
Despite not making the first two matchday squads in the league this season, Murphy also made the bench against Burnley last weekend.
Murphy’s return has shades of Yoan Gouffran’s return to prominence under Rafa Benítez in 2016. The Frenchman had been somewhat cast aside by Steve McClaren and equally struggled to make Benítez’s matchday squads in the final eight games of the 2015/16 season.
With Newcastle’s relegation to the Championship confirmed, Gouffran must have topped many fans’ lists of players who were likely to leave. However, that was not to be the case and like Murphy, despite not featuring in the squad for either of Newcastle’s opening fixtures the following season, Gouffran was a mainstay in the starting XI from that point on.
His five goals in the second tier was a hardly a barnstorming haul, but it was his industrious work on the left-hand side which earned him praise from Newcastle supporters who would have hardly noticed he was gone, had he left in the summer of 2016.
The same can be said of Murphy. After two seasons where he has spent the majority on loan in the Championship, he had become something of a forgotten figure; a failed transfer of a previous regime. But, hope is on the horizon as Murphy seems to have moved ahead of Christian Atsu in the pecking order for a wide berth.
Ghanaian international Atsu has reportedly been told he is free to leave the club, while Murphy’s involvement with the first-team has seen a resurgence.
The 24-year-old’s tale may have a similar ending to Gouffran’s on Tyneside, though. As Newcastle were promoted back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, the French winger was released at the end of his contract, deemed expendable to Newcastle’s attempts to traverse the top flight once again.
Likewise, at the end of this season Jacob Murphy’s Newcastle deal runs out, and with the addition of Ryan Fraser this summer, Allan Saint-Maximin’s outstanding influence and Joelinton’s increased use in wide areas, the club could still deem him surplus to requirements.
That does not mean all hope is lost, Murphy will still be a premium asset for most Championship clubs and at 24 years old has sell-on value. The likelihood of him extending his deal on Tyneside hangs in the balance and will hinge on how much he features between now and the end of the season.
Gouffran meanwhile – now 34 – currently plays in the Armenian top division with Ararat-Armenia, after a two-year spell in Turkey and nine months without a club. Murphy may not be too keen on following a similar pathway to Gouffran post-Newcastle, but could yet extend his stay by seizing the opportunities afforded to him this season.
