Newly promoted side Newcastle United are reportedly eyeing a move for Josh Murphy from Norwich City after they got his elder brother Jacob Murphy earlier this month. The 22-year-old forward has been quite impressive for the Canaries last season too and the Magpies have reportedly been keeping tabs on them for over a year now.
Clearly, Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez has had one of his worst transfer seasons in this summer as the Spaniard digs up Championship talents aiming to make a squad upgrade. The Magpies have been linked with some of the hottest prospects in the transfer market, without making a break through in any of them.
Newcastle United managed to get in four players this summer in Florian Lejeune from La Liga side SD Eibar, Christian Atsu making his deal permanent from Chelsea, Javier Manquillo from Sunderland and Jacob Murphy from Norwich City. And although Newcastle also have Matt Ritchie apart from Atsu and Murphy on the wings, Benitez would need another option to keep his first team fit and fresh for the weekend onslaughts.
Jacob has come to St. James’ Park on the back of a good £12.5million price tag following his impressive loan stint with Coventry City last season. Reportedly, Newcastle’s initial bids of £8 million and £10 million were rejected by the club and the deal was also on the verge of getting cancelled.
Going by that, Josh’s move isn’t expected to be any different either. The Murphys come from a Newcastle supporting family and reportedly they have advised the Toon scouts to continue monitoring Josh with a move to happen next year.
However, his brother who is a left winger has shown tremendous improvement since coming back from his loan stint with MK Dons in 2015. He had scored five goals and registered 10 assists for the Dons in 2015 and he has continued his form with the Canaries last season, scoring four times and producing six assists.
However, due to the lack of any real achievements of the clubs he has been playing, his national career has taken a huge hit. Since making his debut for England Under-20 back in 2014, where has scored one goal in three caps, Josh has failed to get a chance.
The academy product of Norwich, who has had loan stints with Wigan Athletic other than MK Dons, can play easily on both the flanks. His brilliant dribbling abilities have garnered a lot of attention and with a lethal left foot, he could be dangerous from set-pieces.
