Jacob Murphy arrived at Newcastle with a big price-tag and a bigger reputation, and was seen by those within the walls of St James’ Park as a future England international.
But he has never justified the billing he came with, and struggled to make any sort of impact on Tyneside, which has seen him shipped out on loan on two separate occsasions.
He spent the second half of last season alongside Dwight Gayle at West Bromwich Albion, but while Gayle was winning all the plaudits with both club and fans, Murphy struggled to impress.
He came back to Newcastle for pre-season training, but was again heading away from the region, with Sheffield Wednesday agreeing a season-long loan deal.
Murphy made a fantastic start, scoring on his debut, but his good form has not continued in that vein, and he has not played a full 90 minutes in any of Wednesday’s last three games.
Considering he is trying to impress a new manager in Garry Monk, the description of his form will sound all too familiar to Toon fans.
“Big things were expected of the 24-year-old, a £10 million Rafa Benitez buy at Newcastle,” wrote the Sheffield Star.
“Yet Murphy has not delivered so far and frequently drifted in and out of matches.
“Murphy’s place in the team is under threat and he will certainly have to knuckle down and work hard to avoid becoming a squad player.”
Those few lines encompass everything that Newcastle fans have seen from the winger since he arrived at the club.
Murphy has the talent but needs to show conistency
There is no doubt Murphy is a talented player, but for one reason or another, he has never turned that talent into consistent performances.
If he fails to make his spell in Yorkshire a success, it is hard to see where he goes from there.
But it is becoming clearer that whatever the future holds for Murphy, it is likely to be away from Tyneside and Newcastle United.
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