Jacob Murphy has had a major resurgence at Newcastle United after it looked like his days were numbered a few years ago.
In 2025, Jacob Murphy has cemented himself in Newcastle United’s starting XI and has proved to be an integral part of their success this season under Eddie Howe. Murphy has linked up brilliantly with Alexander Isak this season, but no assist will be more important than the one to the Swede in the Carabao Cup final, which sent Toon fans into dreamland.
Newcastle players love Murphy, but it’s fair to say that the winger did not get off to the best of starts on Tyneside after making a £12m move to the North East club from Norwich in 2017.
In his first season, Murphy scored just one Premier League goal in 25 appearances, which caused some fans to question his ability to play in the top flight.
Things went from bad to worse for the winger, who was loaned out to Championship side West Brom in February 2019. This was a clear sign that Rafa Benitez was not a big fan of his big-money signing.
In the wake of a truly historic trophy win and subsequent parade through the city, Murphy has opened up about how he really felt about leaving Newcastle when the writing was on the wall.
Jacob Murphy always wanted to stay at Newcastle United
Murphy is set to sign a new deal at Newcastle following his brilliant form this season. The 30-year-old has scored six goals and bagged nine assists in all competitions throughout the campaign – his best-ever attacking return for the Magpies.
Talk of a new contract comes after it was announced that Murphy had joined a new agency, with the thought process being that he wants a bigger name representing him after his good run of form.
However, it could have been a completely different story for Murphy had he ended up leaving Newcastle after his West Brom loan. His Newcastle career looked all but over when Steve Bruce, Benitez’s successor, loaned Murphy out for a second season and did not hand him a squad number.
Speaking to the Chronicle on Saturday, Murphy opened up about his poor start to life in Newcastle and his unlikely resurgence.
“The journey that I’ve been on. There was one point where everyone thought that it was my time to go. I never thought that,” he said.
“Here I am on that bus parade, you know, leaping at the back post to nod it down to our superstar striker to put us 2-0 in front at Wembley. It’s just an amazing journey and one that my family are proud of, I’m super proud of. It’s awesome.
“And every time on the pitch, whether it’s a goal, an assist, tracking back, blocking space, denying space, anything that anyone can do to play an important part doesn’t go unnoticed by everyone in the dressing room and all the staff.”
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Jacob Murphy wants to finish Newcastle United’s season on a high
Newcastle’s Carabao Cup win will go down as the ultimate highlight of the season, but there is still so much to fight for in the Premier League.
The Magpies are currently sixth in the Premier League table with a game in hand over Chelsea and Manchester City above them. Winning that would mean they leapfrog both teams into fourth place, putting them in a great position for a Champions League finish.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 4 |  ChelseaChelsea | 29 | 14 | 7 | 8 | 53 | 37 | 16 | 49 |
| 5 |  Man CityManchester City | 29 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 55 | 40 | 15 | 48 |
| 6 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 28 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 47 | 38 | 9 | 47 |
| 7 |  BrightonBrighton | 29 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 48 | 42 | 6 | 47 |
| 8 |  FulhamFulham | 29 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 43 | 38 | 5 | 45 |
Howe’s men return to competitive football on Wednesday when they take on Brentford at St James’ Park, but they will not play their game in hand until the middle of April when they host Crystal Palace.
Howe did not let Newcastle players drink during the trophy celebrations, as the Toon boss had one eye on their return to action later this week.
Speaking to the Chronicle, Murphy was asked what else Newcastle can achieve this season.
“Although this is lovely and we’re taking it in, I think that secretly, in the back of everybody’s mind, is that there’s 30 points to get and we need to try our best. We might have already got some sort of European football, but we want the big dog.”
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