Dom Howson and James Marriott discussed all things Sheffield Wednesday on the most recent edition of the Singing The Blues podcast and one of the topics of discussion that came up during the show is the future of Newcastle United attacker Jacob Murphy following the completion of his loan spell with the Owls.
Murphy spent the 2019/20 season at Hillsborough having joined the club on loan from Premier League Newcastle United last August. The attacker ended the campaign as the Owls’ second-highest league goalscorer, bagging nine goals in his 39 Championship appearances and he also provided four league assists for Wednesday during the 2019/20 campaign, making him the club’s joint-third highest assist provider last season.
Marriott raised the topic of Murphy’s future during this recent edition of the Singing The Blues podcast, saying that he is someone that “most Wednesday fans” would point to as being “one of the high points” for the club during the 2019/20 campaign, before going on to share that he believes it’s “probably unlikely” the club will bring him back to Hillsborough for next season.
Owls journalist Howson then shared his thoughts on Murphy’s future in response to this, saying: “I think it is unlikely. It’s funny, I did speak to Jacob Murphy’s agent around a month or so ago and he said that Jacob Murphy was loving it, enjoying his time at Wednesday, and that he would be open to returning to Wednesday next season.
“He actually said, that ‘Wednesday are in the box seat for him’ – but that was a month or so ago, and since then, Jacob Murphy’s carried on being Wednesday’s best attacking player, hasn’t he?
“To finish the season with nine goals, half a dozen or so assists since lockdown, he has been Wednesday’s outstanding performer. So there’s going to be, I’m sure, plenty of interest in Jacob Murphy. I think it’s going to be difficult for Wednesday to bring him back next season and, of course, the ball is in Newcastle’s court. It’s up to Newcastle what they want to do with him, isn’t it?
“Are they going to be prepared to loan him out next season, which may, for Wednesday, you would think, be more feasible than a permanent signing? As if Newcastle want to sell him permanently – they paid £12 million for him, what are they going to take? I think that could price Wednesday out of it and I know that a number of Championship clubs are already looking at Jacob Murphy and keeping a close eye on the situation.”
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It appears as though Howson believes that the Owls may face some competition from other Championship clubs for Murphy’s signature ahead of the 2020/21 campaign, which may not come as a big surprise, considering that the attacker was one of the Owls’ key players in England’s second-tier last season.
This may be concerning news for Owls fans regarding their second-highest league goalscorer during the 2019/20 season, especially considering that their top goalscorer for the 2019/20 Championship campaign, Steven Fletcher, has already departed from the club.