Newcastle United pre-season star could still leave the club following uncertain transfer update

While Lewis Miley and Elliot Anderson will get the majority of the plaudits after impressive pre-season campaigns over the past month, one youngster has gone under the radar in establishing himself as a viable first-team option for Eddie Howe at Newcastle this coming season.

19-year-old centre-back Alex Murphy has played more minutes in pre-season than the likes of Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles and has not looked out of place while doing so. The left-footed defender has been deployed at left-back and at both central defensive positions over pre-season.

Murphy signed for Newcastle from Galway United last summer and quickly established himself in the Under-21s side. And as he awaits his competitive first-team debut, Howe was full of praise as he helped the side keep a clean sheet in the 2-0 win over Fiorentina at St James’ Park on Saturday.

“He did really well,” Howe said. “The beauty of his performances in pre-season have been his versatility.

“He’s played left-back, left-sided centre-half and now right-sided centre-half and I think for a very much left-footed player that was a challenge for him but I thought he did really well helped by Sven [Botman] and Kieran [Trippier]’s experience alongside him. He gave a good defensive performance.”

While Howe has made it clear that neither Miley or Anderson would be loaned out this coming season, he couldn’t guarantee that Murphy would remain at the club throughout the 2023-24 campaign.

When asked if the plan was to keep Murphy involved at Newcastle this coming season, Howe responded: “At this minute in time yes, I don’t think it’s set in stone but he’s certainly done well enough to continue with us short term.

“We hope he keeps progressing and improving.”

Newcastle are understood to be looking at potential centre-back options heading into the final weeks of the transfer window. Newcastle have made three first-team signings so far this summer with Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento joining the club ahead of the new Premier League season.

And Howe is targeting at least one more player before the September 1 deadline.

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