Benitez's hints at Newcastle January winger swopp could spell bad news for Murphy

By Sam Preston

Newcastle United’s problems in front of goal are not a new phenomenon and Rafa Benitez has dropped a hint regarding how he plans to go about rectifying it.

As per the Chronicle, Benitez said after his side’s 0-0 draw against Fulham: “We have been working on that in different positions, not just the striker.

“We have to be more precise in the final third to make sure that the striker has more chances, or more clear chances. We can do a little bit better in the final third and then we will have better chances and we will score more goals.”

That suggests that Benitez is not looking purely at his centre forward but also at his wide and creative players to make a bigger contribution and help score the goals to haul the Magpies out of trouble.

(Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United)

Murphy has the potential to be an exciting option for Newcastle but he has not produced the goods on a consistent basis since Benitez’s long-winded chase to get him from Norwich finally bore fruit in 2017.

And if Benitez is looking for a reliable source of chances, the Englishman is one asset that could be sold on to raise a bit of cash as well as free up a space in the squad for any new recruit.