Pre-season began in farcical fashion for Newcastle United on Saturday but Jacob Murphy sent a message to supporters after the first game of the summer.
Indeed, though it would be foolish to read too much into pre-season results, there’s little doubt that things got off to a rather disappointing start on Saturday.
Celtic thrashed Newcastle 4-0 as the summer began in worrying fashion for Eddie Howe. Not only did the Newcastle United manager see his team thumped, some unwelcome news about Alexander Isak emerged.
Isak was sent home from the Celtic game amid speculation over his future after Liverpool made a move to sign him.
It all makes for rather miserable reading for Newcastle fans right now, but Murphy’s post-match message should put things in some kind of perspective at least.
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Jacob Murphy says Newcastle United will kick on now
On Sunday, the Newcastle United star took to Instagram.
While the 30-year-old admitted the result was not what the team wanted, he assured fans they will keep building from here.
There are reasons to be positive about next season. Newcastle haven’t yet lost any of their key players and remain active in the transfer market, even despite all the difficulty they’ve endured this summer.
They have a talented squad available, and there have been no senior men’s international tournaments to complicate matters on the fitness front.
They’ve also added Anthony Elanga to a squad that qualified for the Champions League last season.
Jacob Murphy the only loser from Newcastle United’s summer transfer window so far
Oddly enough, Murphy is the only Newcastle player to have come under pressure this summer.
While Murphy was one of Newcastle’s best players last season, the fact Elanga has come into the squad raises questions about his place in the team going forward.
| 2024/25 statistics | Jacob Murphy |
| Games | 41 |
| Goals | 9 |
| Assists | 14 |
Newcastle paid £55million for Elanga, so it’s hard to imagine they won’t be starting him on a regular basis next season.
That’s not to say Murphy won’t play a role next season but, clearly, having another right winger with which to compete places him under a certain level of pressure.
It is somewhat ironic that the only signing Newcastle have made this summer puts more pressure on one of their best players from last season.
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