Eddie Howe says 19-year-old Newcastle youngster is now part of his first-team plans

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Newcastle United’s youngsters have impressed everybody in pre-season with Lewis Miley playing his way into Eddie Howe’s first-team plans as a prime example but he wasn’t the only one to do so with Alex Murphy also impressing the gaffer.

Last year Newcastle brought in young Irish defender Alex Murphy from Galway United and he instantly caught the eye of Eddie Howe.

Murphy made 18 appearances for the Under 21’s last season looking extremely solid and earning himself a place in Howe’s pre-season squads.

Murphy didn’t look out of place between Botman and Trippier

The 19-year-old was given plenty of time to shine in the Premier League Summer Series in the USA and upon returning to England for the Sela Cup weekend, was thrown into the starting line-up to face Fiorentina on the Saturday after it was decided Fabian Schar wasn’t fit enough to feature.

Not only was Murphy placed in the team alongside Kieran Trippier, Sven Botman and Matt Targett, he was also playing an unfamiliar role. A predominantly left-footed player, Murphy is most effective as a left-back or left-sided centre-back, but due to Schar’s injury Murphy was placed at right-centre back.

Watching the game you’d never know that wasn’t his natural position, or even that he was just 19 and relatively inexperienced. He held his own in defence and didn’t look out of place sandwiched between Botman and Trippier.

Newcastle need another centre-back but Murphy could fill in for now

As a result, Eddie Howe looks set to keep him around the first-team, at least in the short term. NewcastleWorld asked Howe if Murphy had done enough to earn his spot around the first-team with Howe saying: “At this minute in time, yes. I don’t think it’s set in stone but he’s done well enough to continue his journey with us short-term and we hope he keeps progressing and improving.”

Newcastle are still looking for another centre-back to cover/replace Schar, but with time running out in the transfer window they may not get the deal done in time which could see Murphy promoted to first-team duties until at least January.

At the moment there’s no clear indication as to who Eddie Howe has in mind for that centre-back role with plenty of names being thrown around this summer, but none seem to be actually sticking. This could be seen as a good thing in the club’s eyes, though, as they prefer to get their business done away from prying eyes.