OPINION
Newcastle United’s 1-1 FA Cup draw with Blackburn Rovers on Saturday was another game where winger Jacob Murphy was handed a chance to impress, and it was another game where he missed the mark.
The former Norwich City man has endured a tough time since making the switch to the Magpies, and this season’s been no different. You’d think, then, that he would grab another opportunity by the scruff of the neck… not so much.
He, like so many of his team mates, was absolutely woeful in their draw with the Championship outfit. He produced no creativity, no spark and provided no evidence of why he should remain at St James’ Park for much longer.
At 23 years of age he remains a young footballer with plenty of time ahead of him. It’s likely, then, that some foolish team would be willing to offer Newcastle around £10million for him.
If Rafael Benitez receives an offer like that he should bite their hand off. Murphy simply doesn’t seem to have the temperament to succeed on Tyneside. It’s a pressure cooker environment in the North East, and he just doesn’t seem up to it.
The talent is there, that’s not in dispute. But, for whatever reason, he’s not been able to unleash it in a black and white shirt. His performance on Saturday was the latest example of that.
There were several times where the Magpies were on the attack and the ball was played through to Murphy, and he just seemed to slow the whole attack down. He doesn’t have the confidence to make quick decisions on the ball, he’s second guessing himself.
Benitez doesn’t have the time to focus on one individual player who continually disappoints him. He’s not going to be given much money to spend this month and so he might need to free up funds himself.
Selling Murphy would help him do that, while getting rid of a player who has proven to be incredibly ineffective at this level. If a £10million offer comes in Benitez has to pull the trigger, and consign Murphy to the Newcastle scrapheap once and for all.