Newcastle United set to call-up 19-year-old after £41m trio ruled out vs Burnley

Newcastle United youngster Alex Murphy is pushing for more first-team minutes during the final month of the season.

The Republic of Ireland youth international made only his second senior appearance as a late substitute during last weekend’s 5-1 win at home to Sheffield United. It followed on from his debut against Chelsea in November.

An unprecedented level of injuries this season has led to the 19-year-old being named in 17 matchday squads, and that is set to increase with four games left to play.

United are currently without three central defenders with Fabian Schar joining Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles - both ruled out until late 2024 with ACL injuries. Emil Krafth and Dan Burn are set to start at Burnley on Saturday but Murphy is on standby.

Murphy impressed for the Magpies in pre-season, featuring at the Premier League Summer Series in the United States and the Sela Cup. It led to him training with Howe’s squad on a more permanent basis.

Howe said: “Alex has been impressive in training. I've been really pleased with him and he's been with us all season near enough. He's grown and developed into a really good defender, really comfortable on the ball and a little cameo last week which will have been really good for him.

“Of course with Fabian's injury it potentially gives him an opportunity to come into the team along with the likes of Paul Dummett. We still have some very good players waiting to play. 

“He's versatile and can play both positions - anything on that left-hand side. But having said that, with Fabian's injury, he would probably be the one to shift over to the right as well.” Murphy arrived from League or Ireland side Galway United in July 2022 for an undisclosed fee. Howe believes it was a “really good deal” for the club, who hope to secure more deals like Murphy’s.

Howe added: “If we can sign young players and develop them, Alex has come to the club recently for a really good deal for us - if we can develop players like him that's part of the transfer strategy we need to use.”