Young Irish defender Alex Murphy’s name has been a regular feature on Newcastle United’s first-team team sheets this season.
The 21-year-old full-back from Galway joined Newcastle from his hometown club in 2022 and quickly impressed Eddie Howe.
Alex Murphy has been on the fringes of the first team for a while now and has made a few appearances for the first team this season, and even started the second leg against Qarabag in the Champions League.
It must be a good feeling for the youngster, but at the end of the day, footballers want to play football, and that’s why Murphy has told the Irish Examiner that he’d rather be elsewhere.
Murphy is happy at Newcastle, but admits that if it were his choice, he’d be out on loan playing regularly rather than sitting on the bench for the first team and barely getting any minutes.
“If it was my choice, I’d be somewhere else playing games but it’s not always down to you. 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.”
It’s a fair comment from Murphy as far as we’re concerned. He’d be gaining valuable experience training with the Newcastle first-team if they were having proper training sessions, but the schedule has been so relentless this season that there has barely been any time to train properly.
He’d have been much better served out on loan to a Championship-level club, playing every week and picking up valuable match experience.
If Newcastle are successful in the transfer window this summer, it may create enough room in the squad for Murphy to go out on loan next season, or he may jump up the pecking order in the first team and actually become a regular on the pitch for the Toon next season.
We just hope he’s not left to waste away watching from the sidelines, as it could hamper his development, and the kid has bags of potential.