Jacob Murphy is not the sort of player we want at Everton

Sky Sports' Keith Downie is reporting that Everton have identified Newcastle United winger Jacob Murphy as a primary target to reinforce the Blues' forward line this summer.

The 31-year-old has entered the final 12 months of his contract at St James' Park and, with the Magpies facing a squad overhaul following a lack of European football for the upcoming campaign, Eddie Howe is reportedly willing to cash in rather than lose him for nothing next year. Rumours suggest a fee in the region of £10M to £13M could get the deal done as Newcastle look to balance their books after offloading the likes of Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali.

If there is a textbook definition of an uninspired, late-career Everton panic buy, this is surely it.

On paper, the logic from the Finch Farm hierarchy is depressingly predictable. With Dwight McNeil heavily linked with a move away as he enters the final year of his own contract, and the perennially underwhelming Jack Harrison experiment long over, the recruitment team is looking for Premier League experience on a budget. Murphy managed decent numbers for a high-flying Newcastle side a couple of seasons ago, but a closer look at his recent trajectory suggests we are buying a player right at the start of a steep decline.

Last season, Murphy found himself increasingly relegated to a squad role, frequently hauled off early when he did start — such as his ineffective 45-minute outing against Fulham in the season finale, or being hooked around the hour mark against Nottingham Forest and Arsenal. He’s a player whose game relies heavily on explosive bursts down the flank, and at 31, paying upwards of £10M for an aging wide man looking for one final, lucrative payday feels like a catastrophic misuse of what little resources we have.

Furthermore, what does this say to the few bright sparks we actually have in the squad? The stillborn emergence of young Tyler Dibling on the right wing, alongside Tyrique George, gives us a genuine chance to build something for the future. Blocking their pathway with a Newcastle cast-off who is diabolically poor in possession in his own half and brings zero resale value is exactly the kind of short-termism that got us close to financial ruin in the first place.

If Murphy is brought in strictly as cheap, low-wage squad depth for under £5M, you might look past it. But if we are genuinely looking at him to replace the output of a departing McNeil, then the alarm bells should be ringing. We've spent years trying to clear the deadwood of 30-something Premier League journeymen out of the club; let’s not start collecting any more of them!

This fits the profile of our usual bargain-bin scouring all too well.

 

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