Jacob Murphy has just overtaken £50m Premier League star who could replace him at Newcastle United

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Jacob Murphy scored a quickfire brace as Newcastle United beat Leicester City 3-0 in the Premier League.

Newcastle United kept pace in their pursuit of Champions League qualification with an emphatic victory at the King Power Stadium on Monday evening.

After a weekend of positive results elsewhere, there were a few nerves that Newcastle might slip up against the Foxes, but those were quickly settled when Jacob Murphy scored twice in 11 minutes.

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Eddie Howe has been blown away by Murphy and his current run of form, and he is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

After picking up a crucial three points against Leicester, Newcastle are back up to fifth in the Premier League table with a game in hand on those around them.

Jacob Murphy overtakes Anthony Elanga in Premier League charts

Murphy has been incredible this season and a real unsung hero in this Newcastle squad.

He has made that right-wing spot his own this campaign, and his numbers prove he is enjoying his best season to date.

After scoring twice against Leicester, Murphy took his Premier League goal tally to seven, while he has also picked up eight assists.

It means he has overtaken Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga when it comes to goals and assists combined.

Elanga has scored six and assisted eight times for a Forest side who are rivalling Newcastle for a spot in next season’s Champions League.

Anthony Elanga could replace Jacob Murphy at Newcastle

It is no secret that Newcastle want to sign a right winger in the summer after failing to strengthen the position for several transfer windows.

With Miguel Almiron leaving in January, Murphy is the only natural right-sided winger in the squad with both Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes preferring to play on the left.

Newcastle tried to sign Elanga in the summer with a deadline day bid worth £50m rejected by Forest.

READ MORE: Anthony Elanga reacts after being told Newcastle United want sign him on Sweden duty

Reports claim Newcastle are still interested in Elanga heading into the summer, and if he arrived at St James’ Park he’d likely take Murphy’s spot in the starting XI.

However, numbers suggest Murphy has been even better than Elanga this season despite the Forest winger enjoying his most productive Premier League season so far.