With Jamaal Lascelles having left in the January window, Murphy is now the longest-serving player on Newcastle’s books, having joined the club from Norwich City in the summer of 2017.
The winger has had plenty of highs and lows since then, dropping out of the team under Steve Bruce and briefly being loaned to West Brom and Sheffield Wednesday before eventually establishing himself as a first-team regular under Howe.
His influence has grown the longer he has spent at St James’ Park, to the point where is now a key part of Newcastle’s senior leadership group, managing the dressing room along with the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Dan Burn and Nick Pope.
“Jacob’s got many qualities,” said Howe, who was speaking ahead of this evening’s trip to the Etihad to face Manchester City. “I think he’s an outstanding character. He’s part of our leadership group now, which I think speaks volumes for how the other players see him.
“He’s not necessarily an outspoken, confrontational speaker as a leader, he’s a very likeable person who is very positive and a very good team-mate.
“I think you can talk to Jacob about anything. If I was a team-mate of his, then I’d know that he’d give me really good advice and try to steer me in the right direction, he’s a really good role model for the younger players.”
Howe has long been an admirer of Murphy’s on-field impact, with the winger having survived countless culls that have seen Newcastle’s recruitment team attempt to improve things on the right-hand side of the attack.
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Miguel Almiron was one of the more high-profile right-sided players to depart, with last summer’s signing of Anthony Elanga supposed to have solved the issue and potentially heralded Murphy’s exit.
Instead, with Elanga having struggled to hit top form following his move from Nottingham Forest, Murphy has remained as important as ever, clocking up 31 senior appearances in four different competitions already this season.
“Personally, I love how level he is,” continued Howe. “He’s always thinking of the team, but he’s also always thinking about how he can improve himself.
“I think that’s why he’s been so successful here, under me in particular, because he’s developing his game all the time. He’s trying to find new ways to improve his game against full-backs, whether that’s crossing, you name it, he’s watching his game back and trying to evolve it and take it forward.
“I’ve got a lot of time for players that invest that time in their careers, and you see that every day, he’s one of the last off the training pitch in terms of trying to hone his skills.”
That work ethic was rewarded in midweek, when Murphy came off the bench to score his first Champions League goal in Newcastle’s 6-1 thrashing of Azerbaijani side Qarabag.
“You see him score a goal like he did,” said Howe. “Yes, it took a slight deflection, but that would be Murph working on his shooting after training, both feet. Countless times, he works the goalkeepers.
“I’m really pleased for him to get that moment because that’s a special thing, your first Champions League goal. I’m sure at different stages of his career, he wouldn’t have known that he would get to this point. But he fully deserves it.”