Jacob Murphy during the Newcastle United trophy parade and celebration
Jacob Murphy during the Newcastle United trophy parade and celebration
Jacob Murphy admits he recalled the moment when people thought his number was up at Newcastle United.
The forward was sent out on loan to West Bromwich Albion after his £12million move from Norwich City was questioned by some after losing his place under Rafa Benitez. The Spaniard's replacement Steve Bruce then sanctioned a deal to head to Sheff Wed just weeks into his stint in charge after not handing Murphy a squad number.
However, it was during the summer of 2020 that United had a change of heart on Murphy and he impressed to help keep the club in the Premier League in Bruce's first season. Fast forward to 2025 and he is an integral part of Eddie Howe's team with a Carabao Cup final assist and winners medal against Liverpool to show for his efforts.
Murphy, speaking at the club's open top bus parade, said: "The journey that I've been on. There was one point where everyone thought that it was my time to go. I never thought that.
"Here I am on that bus parade, you know, leaping at the back post to nod it down to our superstar striker to put us 2-0 in front at Wembley. It's just an amazing journey and one that my family are proud of, I'm super proud of. It's awesome."
Murphy reflected on his Wembley performance but insisted that Newcastle's success should be judged on the hard yards and the unseen work that often doesn't get the headlines. The 30-year-old said: "Yeah, everyone in the squad, they know that their contribution is highly valued.
"And every time on the pitch, whether it's a goal, an assist, tracking back, blocking space, denying space, anything that anyone can do to play an important part doesn't go unnoticed by everyone in the dressing room and all the staff."
With 10 matches left of the season, Newcastle have already snapped out of celebration mode. The Brentford game will kick that off as Newcastle look to secure their place in the Champions League.
With Europa Conference League football secured, Murphy wants bigger and better. He said: "That's the aim. We've got 10 huge games coming up.
"Although this is lovely and we're taking it in, I think that secretly, in the back of everybody's mind, is that there's 30 points to get and we need to try our best. We might have already got some sort of European football, but we want the big dog."