Steve Bruce says that his decision to hold on to Jacob Murphy is reward for an impressive pre-season.
The former Norwich City winger was set to leave Newcastle, but Bruce threw him one last chance in the summer.
His man-of-the-match display at Morecambe prompted fresh questions about his future but Bruce cleared up the matter in his post-game Press conference.
He said: "He deserves to stay with us.
"He’s improved enormously, and I’ve been very pleased with him, even though he hasn’t made the squad for the weekend.
"We’ve got a lot of players to choose from, but at this particular moment, I won’t be letting Jacob go.
“He’s had a really good pre-season, and showed a great attitude towards it.
"He’s benefited from being out on loan, and had a really good loan last year at Sheffield Wednesday, who think really highly of him."
The news will disappoint Sheffield Wednesday who had a loan deal lined up for the boyhood Toon fan.
Bruce added: “He’s a good young player, who’s direct and quick, and he’s grasped his chance and really given us food for thought.
"Arguably, he was our best player tonight, so fair play to him for that.”
