Anthony Elanga has a touch of Jacob Murphys

Anthony Elanga and Jacob Murphy are the two players competing for the right wing position.

Although Eddie Howe occasionally turned to Harvey Barnes or Anthony Gordon to play in that side.

It’s fair to say that if the vast majority of Newcastle United fans were to choose between Murphy and Elanga at the moment, it would be the former.

Anthony Elanga has made 11 appearances in all competitions for Newcastle this season, scoring just one assist but scoring no goals.

While Jacob Murphy started 14 games this season and scored two goals, plus three assists.

However, digging deeper, I think Newcastle United’s two right wingers are much more connected, apart from the fact that they both play in the same position.

I do think Anthony Elanga has a touch of Jacob Murphys…

Let me explain

With Mike Ashley having starved Rafa Benitez of realistic (previously promised) funds following his 2017 promotion, Rafa’s most expensive signing in the summer of 2017 was the £10 million paid for 22-year-old Jacob Murphy.

Murphy had scored and impressed against Newcastle United in the 2016/17 Championship season, with the Norwich winger scoring nine league goals and getting six assists.

Over the next two seasons, Jacob Murphy made 32 Premier League appearances under Rafa Benitez, but scored only one PL goal and had two PL assists. That one PL goal under Rafa was a brilliant solo effort at the Etihad against Man City, but a standout compared to his usual performances.

I know it’s hard to imagine now, but at the time, Jacob Murphy was like a rabbit caught in the headlights to me. When I moved from Carrow Road to the high-pressure area of ​​St. James’ Park, I think Murphy had a crisis of confidence. It was just too much for him.

The former Norwich man then went on loan spells to West Brom and Sheff Wed, before returning to make a further 94 NUFC appearances across three Premier League seasons (2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23), scoring seven PL goals and making seven PL assists.

I think it was actually only at the age of 28 when Jacob Murphy really started to believe in himself as a Newcastle United player, some six years after signing for the club he had always supported. Finally able to embrace playing at St James’ Park and soak up the atmosphere, rather than finding it overwhelming for years after arriving on Tyneside.

In the 2023/24 Premier League season, Jacob Murphy conceded 10 direct goals (scoring three and seven assists) from just 14 PL starts (and seven sub appearances).

Last season (2024/25) saw him absolutely smash it with twenty direct goals in the league, eight goals and twelve assists.

Only Mo Salah provided more PL assists than Murphy.

Which brings me to Anthony Elanga…

As some Newcastle United fans go on, it was apparently unfathomable why Eddie Howe wanted to sign Anthony Elanga this summer.

The reality, of course, was that with 17 direct goals for Forest in the league last season, he looked like an excellent transfer target. Elanga ranked third in PL assists last season, his eleven behind only Salah and Murphy.

In the opening game of the season, Anthony Elanga was put through on goal after just a minute or two and then failed to take advantage of his chance against the Villa keeper.

Even at that early stage, many older NUFC fans said they hoped it wouldn’t turn out to be his ‘Jon Dahl Tomasson’ moment. Tomasson had an early break in his debut against Sheff Wed in the 1990s, I think, and failed to seize the opportunity and then failed to really tackle the upgrade, leaving Newcastle after just one season.

With Anthony Elanga, I hope and think it’s more Jacob Murphys, although hopefully it won’t take too many years for Murphy to really show what he can do for NUFC.

I think Elanga just needs some time to build his confidence and it’s easy to forget that he doesn’t have much experience under his belt. Anthony Elanga may have made his first Premier League start for Man U in the 2020/21 season, but he is now only 23 and had not made a great career in 77 PLs before signing for Eddie Howe.

I believe that confidence could well come from sub performances for Anthony Elanga in the near future, hopefully Newcastle can put on a winning streak and when he is in good positions in games and the opponent is chasing the game, Elanga can use his devastating pace against tiring and more open opponents in the later stages of the games.

Previously unleashed as a regular starter, once he gained that confidence.

Some players take longer than others to settle down and I think with wingers, with players who have flair, confidence is a big thing and they can also have very up and down shapes.

A little patience from Eddie Howe AND the Newcastle United fans could pay off big time with Anthony Elanga.

Far too early to write him off after making the move from the City Ground to the more intense and higher pressure environment of St James’ Park.