Newcastle loanee Jacob Murphy reviving his career at Sheffield Wednesday

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Loan Watch series, which takes a closer look at those players who are aiming to galvanise their careers away from the spotlight of their parent club.

Having signed from Norwich for a reported £12m in the summer of 2017, Jacob Murphy’s career at Newcastle failed to really take off.

The winger’s decision to join West Brom on loan in the January transfer window this year yielded some more first-team opportunities, and whilst he didn’t exactly set the world alight with his performances, it showed enough glimpses of his talent.

Now the 24-year-old finds himself on a season-long loan at Championship side Sheffield Wednesday, and there are certainly reasons for major encouragement that he may eventually come good for parent club Newcastle in the future.

On the face of it, trying to suggest Murphy has enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance with just one goal in five games seems a little far-fetched. But when looking at the under-lying numbers, we can see a much-clearer picture of how the 24-year-old is appearing to find his confidence again.

The former Norwich ace has registered 2.2 shots per game this season for Wednesday – an amount that significantly betters the averages of 0.9 and 0.2 shots per game he mustered at Newcastle. Perhaps even more impressive are his dribbling numbers. One of Murphy’s biggest attributes is his ability to take people on, and he has taken his game to another level in this respect.

Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

In making 2.6 dribbles per game in the Championship, the ex-England U21 international has achieved a career-best. The closest he has ever gotten to that number was in the 2016/17 break-out season he had with Norwich, when he recorded 1.9 dribbles per game. To put that into context, it was at the end of that season that saw the Magpies decide to splash the cash on the 5 foot 9 ace.

Speaking to The Star, Shields Gazette journalist Miles Starforth remarked of Murphy: “He’s quick, direct and loves running at defenders. He’s also got an eye for goal. Maybe Rafa Benitez over-complicated things for him. He’s a talented player who just needs to play so he can fulfil his potential.”

Already this season Murphy is making good use of the opportunities he is being given. If he can add some numbers to his goals and assists tallies over the course of the coming weeks and months, Newcastle may still get to reap the long-term rewards of their £12m signing.