Newcastle United were notoriously shrewd under the Mike Ashley regime, only spending money when pressure from the fan base grew too large or if there was a bargain to be had.

Returning from the Championship at the first time of asking in 2017, then-manager Rafael Benitez and the club had changed their focus and were attempting to sign a new youth-focused brand of players.

Jacob Murphy, who was just 22 years old and had excelled for Norwich City, emerged as their primary target. The Magpies managed to acquire him for £12m after coming off the back of scoring eight goals and setting up eight more as the Canaries finished eighth in the second tier in 2016/17.

However, since moving to Tyneside, he has struggled to truly kickstart his career and recapture this initial form which earned him that move to St James' Park.

The 27-year-old has featured 116 times for the Magpies across all competitions, but his goal contributions in that time fail to surpass his total from that 2016/17 campaign alone. He has scored just six times for the Toon, setting up a further nine goals.

It is therefore no surprise to see his value depreciate over time, with CIES Football Observatory outlining a 64% decrease from the initial fee that Newcastle forked out, as he is reportedly worth just €5m (£4.3m) now.

Murphy has shown some sparks of the player that he could have become, and after a good run of form during 2018 he was noted as “unlucky to drop to the bench” by Chris Waugh. However, consistency has been the player's main issue for Benitez and subsequent Newcastle managers.

Since making the move to St James’ Park, the 27-year-old is yet to score more than two goals in the Premier League in a single campaign.

Despite this, a couple of loan moves back to the Championship saw him once again thrive, scoring nine and setting up six for Sheffield Wednesday during the 2019/20 season.

It is clear that the Premier League seems a step too far for the winger, but he can be regarded as a fine player for the second tier.

To see Ashley spend such precious funds on a player who has been so wholly disappointing would have been frustrating for Newcastle fans at the time, but given the vast wealth of their current ownership, financial blunders are becoming less and less of a worry.