Jacob Murphy joined West Brom on loan in January, but the winger was unable to inspire them to promotion.
The Baggies reached the playoffs, but lost to Aston Villa on penalties in the semi finals last night.
It means West Brom won’t be playing Premier League football next season, which is actually good news for Newcastle.
Salomon Rondon’s loan deal has been a huge success and you’d struggle to find any fan who doesn’t want him to sign permanently.
And now that it is confirmed that West Brom will be playing Championship football next season, Rondon’s price is set. The forward will reportedly cost £16.5million, a reasonable fee for a player of his talents.
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While it’s unclear if Mike Ashley will want to spend that much, at least West Brom don’t have the chance to drive the price up and make Rondon unattainable.
And Newcastle might be able to thank two of their players for that.
Murphy couldn’t inspire West Brom with Gayle suspended
The first leg of the playoff semi-final was all about Dwight Gayle. The forward gave West Brom the lead, then became the pantomime villain.
He was sent off late in the game for a second yellow, ruling him out of the second leg.
Murphy took his place in the starting XI, and it’s fair to say the fans weren’t impressed with his contribution.
While you want to see your players do well out on loan, West Brom’s failure is certainly a good thing.
Gayle has been a huge success for the Baggies, scoring 24 goals. He could’ve been the difference in the second leg.
As for Murphy, his loan spell hasn’t gone as well. While he’s done well in patches, once again the winger looks totally devoid of confidence.
Maybe if he’d played better then West Brom would’ve made the playoff final. But then again, if he was better he’d still be at Newcastle, having cost £12million in 2017.
Does Murphy have a future at St James’ Park? Who knows, but fans are more interested in the future of Rafa and Rondon right now.