Anthony Elanga and Jacob Murphy are the two players competing for the right wing position.
Although on occasion, Eddie Howe has turned to Harvey Barnes or Anthony Gordon to play on that side.
Fair to say that if asked to choose between Murphy and Elanga at the minute, it would be the former that the overwhelming majority of Newcastle United fans would choose.
Anthony Elanga has started 11 games in all competitions for Newcastle this season and managed just the one assist, though no goals.
Whilst Jacob Murphy has started 14 matches this season and scored two goals, plus getting three assists.
Digging deeper though, I think far more connects the two Newcastle United right wingers, other than the fact that they both play in the same position.
Indeed, I think Anthony Elanga has a touch of the Jacob Murphys…
Let me explain
With Mike Ashley starving Rafa Benitez of realistic (previously promised) funds after promotion in 2017, Rafa’s most expensive capture in summer 2017 was the £10m paid for a 22 year old Jacob Murphy.
Murphy had scored and impressed against Newcastle United in the 2016/17 Championship season, the Norwich winger scoring nine league goals and getting six assists.
The next two seasons saw Jacob Murphy make 32 Premier League appearances under Rafa Benitez but only score one PL goal and get two PL assists. That one PL goal under Rafa was a brilliant solo effort at the Etihad against Man City but very much a stand out compared to his usual displays.
I know it is difficult now to imagine it, but back then, to me Jacob Murphy was like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Moving to the high pressure St James’ Park from Carrow Road, I think Murphy had a crisis of confidence. It was just too much for him.
The former Norwich player then went out on loan deals at West Brom and Sheff Wed, before then coming back and making another 94 NUFC appearances in three Premier League seasons (2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23, scoring seven PL goals and getting seven PL assists.
I think it was actually only at the age of 28, when Jacob Murphy really began to believe in himself as a Newcastle United player, some six years after signing for the club he’d always supported. Able to finally embrace playing at St James’ Park and feed off the atmosphere, rather than having found it overwhelming for so many years after arriving on Tyneside.
The 2023/24 Premier League season saw Jacob Murphy get 10 direct goal involvements (scored three and seven assists) from only 14 PL starts (and seven sub appearances).
Last season (2024/25) then saw him absolutely smash it with 20 direct goal involvements in the league, eight goals and 12 assists.
Only Mo Salah managed more PL assists than Murphy.
Which brings me to Anthony Elanga…
The way some Newcastle United fans go on, it was apparently unfathomable as to why Eddie Howe wanted to sign Anthony Elanga in the summer.
Reality of course was that with 17 direct goal involvements for Forest last season in the league, he looked a cracking transfer target, Elanga was third highest last season when it came to PL assists, his 11 only behind Salah and Murphy.
In the opening game of the season, after only a minute or two, Anthony Elanga was put through on goal and when one on one failed to take his chance against the Villa keeper.
Even at that early stage, many older NUFC fans were saying they hoped it wouldn’t prove to be his ‘Jon Dahl Tomasson’ moment, Tomasson back in the 90s put through early in his debut against Sheff Wed I think it was, failing to take the chance and then failing to really cope with the upgrade and leaving Newcastle after only one season.
With Anthony Elanga, I hope and think it is more of the Jacob Murphys, though hopefully not taking quite the number of years Murphy did before showing properly what he can do for NUFC.
I think Elanga just needs to be given a bit of time to build up his confidence and easy to forget that he hasn’t got loads of experience behind him. Anthony Elanga may have made his first Premier League start for Man U back in the 2020/21 season but he is still only 23 now and had made a not huge 77 PL career starts before signing for Eddie Howe.
I believe that confidence could well come in the near future from sub appearances for Anthony Elanga, hopefully Newcastle putting a run of wins together and when in good positions in matches and the opposition chasing the game, Elanga then able to use his devastating pace against tiring and more open opponents in the later stages of games.
Before then unleashed as a regular starter, once getting that confidence in place.
Some players take longer than others to settle and I think with wingers, with flair players, that confidence is a huge thing and they can also have very up and down runs of form.
A bit of patience from Eddie Howe AND the Newcastle United fans, can pay big dividends with Anthony Elanga.
Far too early to be writing him off after making the step up from the City Ground to a more intense and high pressure environment of St James’ Park.