Jacob Murphy – Fantasy Football Potential

Newly promoted side Newcastle strengthened their attacking threat with the acquisition of winger Jacob Murphy for a fee in the region of £12 million. Newcastle purchased Murphy from his boyhood club Norwich where he bagged an impressive 13 goals and 6 assists in all competitions. He also played with twin brother Josh throughout his time with the Canaries.

As well as performing for Norwich in the Championship, Jacob Murphy impressed on the international stage with England u21’s at the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, where he scored in their 3-0 win against Poland as England fell at the penultimate hurdle on penalties to Germany.

Jacob Murphy, whose parents originally come from the North-east said that:

“It was a childhood dream of mine to represent Newcastle and the opportunity is now here. I can’t wait to get started.”

Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez added that:

“He’s a young and talented player and hopefully he can develop even more here.”We hope he can show us the passion, commitment and ability that he showed in the Championship last season.”

Fantasy Premier League Potential

For Fantasy Premier League, Jacob Murphy could well be a viable option as a 4th or 5th midfielder option. The 5.5m price tag makes him cheaper than other Championship prodigies such as Knockaert, Ince and Newcastle team-mate Matt Ritchie. In addition to that Murphy has a fantastic disciplinary record, picking up just 1 yellow card in his 43 appearances last season which is ideal if this record carries on into the Premier League.

He will seemingly be fighting for the place previously filled by Christina Atsu who recently signed permanently after a successful loan spell from Chelsea. He may also be wary of young winger Rolando Aarons whose career up until now, has been stop start due to a variety of injuries.

I for one will not be selecting Jacob Murphy as there isn’t a guarantee he will get the sufficient game time with the competition he has around him. However, given the £12 million price tag, surely Benitez hasn’t spent a significant amount of money for a bench warmer, has he?

Newcastle’s opening fixtures are as follows: Tottenham (h), Huddersfield (a), West Ham (h), Swansea (a) and Stoke (h). These first five fixtures could potentially be tempting for FPL managers.

If you have enjoyed this early view of the fantasy potential of those moving teams this transfer window, be sure to check the others here.

Written by Harry Clark (@HarryClark67)

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