Newcastle United transfers: Alex Murphy has admitted he wanted to leave the club on loan in January to pursue regular first team football.
Newcastle United defender Alex Murphy is at a bit of a crossroads in his professional career.
The 21-year-old has made just seven appearances for Newcastle over the last three seasons, with his first and so far only start coming last month in the Champions League against Qarabag.
Newcastle’s defensive injury troubles this season has seen Murphy become a regular part of the first-team squad though rarely used on the pitch. It’s a catch-22 situation for the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international who is viewed as too good to be loaned out during an injury crisis but too inexperienced to be trusted on a regular basis.
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Bench novelty has worn off for Alex Murphy
The result? 34 unused substitute outings so far this campaign for the former Galway United youngster. Now, he’s admitted the novelty has worn off.
Murphy spent the second half of last season on loan at Bolton Wanderers in League One, scoring twice in 13 appearances. But since returning to Tyneside he has found first-team football hard to come by.
The left-sided defender would have been loaned out in January had it not been for injuries to Dan Burn, Sven Botman, Tino Livramento and Fabian Schar.
Ultimately, the decision to keep Murphy means he can now officially call himself a Champions League player, having started Newcastle’s 3-2 knockout round play-off win over Qarabag last month.
"If it was my choice, I’d be somewhere else playing games but it’s not always down to you," Murphy told the Irish Examiner. "You must accept that, keep doing what you’re doing and hopefully the chance will come.
"It’s good to say that you’re a Premier League player and be in the squads every week, but as a player you want to play in games. Any player would be fuming to be on the bench for every game. It’s nice for a while but does wear off.
"I’m delighted to be at Newcastle United, have no complaints about being there. It’s just wanting to play."
Alex Murphy open to NUFC exit this summer
Murphy in under contract at Newcastle until 2028 but will be allowed to leave on loan this summer in pursuit of regular first-team football. But a permanent exit hasn’t been ruled out.
"Yeah, especially after not playing much this season," Murphy added on his future at Newcastle. "I know it’s not over yet but you just want to have a full season of games. I’m still young enough to learn and get as much experience.
"I actually moved up to the first-team dressing room a few years ago. That’s massive for any young player at the start, being just grateful to be there, but the longer it goes on, you just want to break into the team eventually.
"Newcastle could easily have brought another left-back in behind Lewis Hall but they trusted me. I played a lot in pre-season and thought I did well. But it’s not easy when you’ve a player like Lewis in front of you.
"I would have tried harder to get out on loan if I thought I didn’t have a chance. But I always knew that if I keep pushing I might actually break through. I’m still hoping to do that."
Murphy is currently away on international duty with Ireland Under-21s as they faced Moldova on Thursday night and Kazakhstan next Tuesday in the in the Under-21 European Championship qualifiers.
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