Jonjo Shelvey believes Jacob Murphy has had the biggest transformation of any player at Newcastle United.
The winger joined the Magpies in 2017 for £12million, brought to the club from Norwich City by Rafa Benitez. He was far from a marquee signing, failing to massively impress under the Spaniard or his successor Steve Bruce.
However, everything has changed for Jacob Murphy under Eddie Howe. He is now a pivotal player for a Newcastle United side that has won a trophy and compete in the Champions League.
It is absolutely remarkable, with former teammate Jonjo Shelvey in disbelief at what Murphy has gone on to achieve.
Jonjo Shelvey and Jacob Murphy celebrate together during Burnley vs Newcastle United.
Photo by Jon Super – Pool/Getty Images
Jonjo Shelvey shocked to see Jacob Murphy play in the Champions League
Shelvey has spoken about Murphy on the latest episode of the Here To Compete podcast alongside Sky Sports presenter Pete Graves.
The former Toon midfielder was asked about Murphy, with Shelvey admitting that he genuinely never thought he was good enough to go on and play in the Champions League. However, he is happy to have been proven wrong.
“It’s a mad one when you think about it,” he said.
“If I’m being honest, I never thought Murph would play in the Champions League. I couldn’t be happier for him because he’s such a great character off the pitch as well.
MORE NEWCASTLE STORIES
“But he’s probably one of the biggest transformations I’ve seen in terms of the quality, how far he’s come. And I think with Murph, he’s obviously got that physical stature anyway, with his speed and how quick he is and how strong he is. But he’s really upped his game with the end product side of it.
“That’s probably credit to Eddie in terms of how much he works with the players. He doesn’t just want to win football matches, he wants to see players develop as footballers and as human beings as well. You have to give credit to Eddie for that.”
How Jacob Murphy reacted on his Champions League debut
Not only has Murphy played in the Champions League for Newcastle United, but he has also been impactful in the competition.
The 30-year-old has got two Champions League assists to his name this season, creating goals for Anthony Gordon against Barcelona and Benfica. He will hope to add to that tally on Wednesday night when Newcastle face Athletic Club in the Champions League.
Looking back to his first Champions League appearance, Murphy could not hide his own disbelief when that famous anthem was beamed out from the speakers inside the San Siro ahead of AC Milan vs Newcastle United.
His reaction was incredibly wholesome, with Murphy unable to hide his grin ahead of facing the seven-time European champions for his boyhood club.
The pre-game clip of Murphy went viral, which is something he has done regularly in recent years.
He has also regularly scored or assisted in big games for Newcastle United. His transformation has been outstanding. As Shelvey says, he has seriously upped his game to become one of the most dangerous wingers in the entire Premier League.
While he is not as trendy as some of his rivals, you cannot argue with the number of goal contributions he gets for this Newcastle United team. Alexander Isak certainly can’t, having become less prolific since waving goodbye to the man who created so many of his goals.