Jacob Murphy arrived at the club while he was 22 years of age and had been a Norwich City player throughout his career despite being a Newcastle United fan since childhood.
It was a signing that was certainly made with the future in mind after showing some promise in Norwich's 2016/17 Championship campaign. The move to Tyneside was the first time he made a permanent move away from Carrow Road after having no less than six loan moves in 2014-2016 to various places in the Football League.
It can easily be argued that Murphy, despite still being a Newcastle player, has yet to really live up to his price tag of £12m. He had a good run of form at the start of 2018 but he has failed to claim a place in the team of his own. Cameo appearances during this current season has meant that Rafa Benitez felt that he could be shipped off on loan to Championship side, West Brom where loanee (also from Newcastle) Dwight Gayle is impressing.
Something that does not look like good reading for Murphy is that the statistics show that our record when he has played is far worse than the club's record when Murphy has not featured. However, Murphy does usually play on the occasions when we are up against a top six side and is often overlooked for matches when the club has a realistic chance of winning.
Dates: 18th July 2017 to present day (596* days).
Transfer details: Bought for £12m from Norwich on 18/07/2017.
Total: 41 appearances, 1 goal.
Season by Season (when Murphy has played)
2017/18
Premier League: 10th (Played: 25, Won: 6, Drawn: 4, Lost: 15, Goals for: 24, Goals against: 36, Goal difference: -12, Pts: 22)
League Cup: 2nd Round (v Nottingham Forest) - Played: 1, Won: 0, Drawn: 0, Lost: 1, Goals for: 2, Goals against: 3, Goal difference: -1.
FA Cup: 4th Round (v Chelsea) - Played: 2, Won: 1, Drawn: 0, Lost: 1, Goals for: 3, Goals against: 4, Goal difference: -1.
2018/19
Premier League: (Played: 9, Won: 0, Drawn: 2, Lost: 7, Goals for: 7, Goals against: 18, Goal difference: -11, Pts: 2)
League Cup: 2nd Round (v Nottingham Forest) - Played: 1, Won: 0, Drawn: 0, Lost: 1, Goals for: 1, Goals against: 3, Goal difference: -2.
FA Cup: 4th Round (v Watford) - Played: 3, Won: 1, Drawn: 1, Lost: 1, Goals for: 5, Goals against: 5, Goal difference: 0.
Record with Murphy
League: Played: 34, Won: 6, Drawn: 6, Lost: 22, Goals for: 31, Goals against: 54, Goal difference: -23, Pts: 24. Win ratio: 18%
Home (league): Played: 13, Won: 3, Drawn: 2, Lost: 8, Goals for: 13, Goals against: 18, Goal difference: -5, Pts: 11. Win ratio: 23%.
Away (league): Played: 21, Won: 3, Drawn: 4, Lost: 14, Goals for: 18, Goals against: 37, Goal difference: -19, Pts: 13. Win ratio: 14%.
Domestic Cup: Played: 7, Won: 2, Drawn: 1, Lost: 4, Goals for: 11, Goals against: 15, Goal difference: -4. Win ratio: 29%.
Home (all competitions): Played: 17, Won: 4, Drawn: 3, Lost: 10, Goals for: 19, Goals against: 25, Goal difference: -6. Win ratio: 24%.
Away (all competitions): Played: 24, Won: 4, Drawn: 4, Lost: 16, Goals for: 23, Goals against: 45, Goal difference: -22. Win ratio: 17%.
Total: Played: 41, Won: 8, Drawn: 7, Lost: 26, Goals for: 42, Goals against: 70, Goal difference: -28. Win ratio: 20%.
Record without Murphy
Home (league): Played: 18, Won: 9, Drawn: 3, Lost: 6, Goals for: 19, Goals against: 16, Goal difference: +3, Pts: 30. Win ratio: 50%.
Away (league): Played: 8, Won: 2, Drawn: 5, Lost: 1, Goals for: 8, Goals against: 7, Goal difference: +1, Pts: 11. Win ratio: 25%.
Total: Played: 26, Won: 11, Drawn: 8, Lost: 7, Goals for: 27, Goals against: 23, Goal difference: +4, Pts: 13. Win ratio: 42%
Goals
Premier League: 1
Away: 1 (Man City)
Total: 1
Home: 0 (0%)
Away: 1 (100%)
Most goals in a 5-game run: 1 - Man City (January 2018).
Landmark Matches
First win
Newcastle United 3 (Joselu 36, Ciaran Clark 72, Aleksandar Mitrovic 86) West Ham 0 - (26/08/2017)
After two defeats that began in the 2017/18 campaign as well as crashing out of the League Cup at home to Nottingham Forest at home, a response was needed. Joselu, on home debut, opened the scoring in the first half with Ciaran Clark and Aleksandar Mitrovic added to the score in the second half.
Last win
Newcastle United 3 (Dwight Gayle 23, Ayoze Perez 59, 63) Chelsea 0 - (13/05/2018)
Murphy has made nine appearances so far in the 2018/19 season, all of which he has not been on the winning side. The last time he won a match in the Newcastle shirt was on the final day of last season in a comfortable 3-0 win over Chelsea in what was Antonio Conte's final Premier League match before getting the sack after winning the FA Cup the following week. It was a wonderful way to wrap up the season which confirmed a top half finish, the first time since West Ham in 2013 to finish in the top half of the Premier League in the first season after promotion from the Championship.
Further landmark matches
Debut: Huddersfield Town 1 - 0 Newcastle United (20/08/2017)
First goal: Man City 3 - 1 Newcastle United (20/01/2018)
Last match: Chelsea 2 - 1 Newcastle United (12/01/2019)