Howe must brutally axe £35k-p/w NUFC dud with "so much ability", he's lost his "spark" - opinion

Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United side head into this evening’s Premier League clash with Southampton in a quite remarkable run of form, with the Magpies remaining undefeated in their last seven outings – with five of these results coming as wins.

This form has seen the club establish a healthy cushion between themselves and the relegation zone, with Newcastle currently occupying 14th place in the top-flight standings, seven points above Burnley in 18th.

And, a win at St. Mary’s this evening would take the Magpies to within four points of their ninth-placed opponents – a quite remarkable turnaround considering Newcastle’s situation at the beginning of the year.

As such, with yet another victory all but securing the club’s Premier League status this season, Howe must ensure that his team selection is absolutely spot on against Southampton – with one player who looks to be a prime candidate for the chop being that of Jacob Murphy.

Indeed, with Allan Saint-Maximin having been ruled out of two of the Magpies’ last three fixtures with a knock, Murphy was handed a brilliant opportunity to stake a claim as a regular starter within Howe’s side.

However, the £3.6m-rated winger failed to make any real impression in the 1-1 draw with West Ham United – completing just 19 of his 31 attempted passes, losing possession of the ball on 21 occasions and losing six of his nine duels – earning a disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.8 at the London Stadium.

It was a similar story for the £35k-per-week forward in the 2-0 win over Brentford – completing a mere 14 of his 21 attempted passes, ceding possession of the ball 13 times and losing six of his nine duels – once again earning a rather abject SofaScore match rating of 6.8.

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