Murphy's Tears Spark 'Battlezone' Fever as Barcelona Sees Epic Victory Climb!
Jacob Murphy on Barcelona: 'We're ready to go there and give them a war' Although born in Wembley, London, Murphy and his twin brother, Josh, grew up as Magpies supporters. Recently, the 31-year-old made his 250th appearance for the club, having signed from Norwich City in 2017, but it hasn't been a smooth path. He had loan spells at West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield Wednesday as he initially struggled to establish himself at St.
James' Park, but has become increasingly influential on and off the pitch under Eddie Howe. Voted by his teammates into the players' Leadership Group at the beginning of last season, he wore the captain's armband in the closing stages of the Champions League home win over Qarabag last month. But being named skipper from the start was 'different,' he admitted - and picking up all three points made it even better.
Now attention turns to Barcelona on Wednesday night. Here are some of Murphy's post-match thoughts from Stamford Bridge. On leading his boyhood club out for the first time...
"It's hard to describe. I'd had a little taste for brief moments but it's different from the start. I had a huge grin on my face when the gaffer told me.
I had a bit of banter with 'Burny' (Dan Burn): 'I'm the captain now', so he has to listen. No, it was a lovely moment. And what a journey it's been that I lead the men out to war.