According to a recent report from The Express and Star, West Brom are eyeing up a late January move for winger Jacob Murphy. The Englishman currently plays his football at Premier League outfit Newcastle United and has done so since leaving Norwich City back in the summer of 2017, although struggles for regular game time under Magpies manager Rafa Benitez this season has plunged his future at St James’ Park into doubt.

And a recent report from The Express and Star suggests that Darren Moore’s Baggies are one side seeking to take the winger on loan for the rest of the season, although the report does state that Murphy will only be allowed to leave if Newcastle strengthen their attacking options.

And with reports recently (as per the BBC) suggesting that the Magpies are closing in on a deal to sign Miguel Almiron, the door could well be ajar for Moore to finally lure the £6.3 million-rated Baggies target (as per Transfermarkt) to the Hawthorns.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, the Midlanders have seen fellow wingers Harvey Barnes and Bakary Sako leave the club this month to leave Moore somewhat short of options in that area of the field, with Barnes’ return to Leicester City particularly painful given just how brilliant he was in the first half of the season.

The England Under-21 international scored a mightily impressive nine goals and laid on seven assists in only 26 Championship appearances for West Brom in the first half of the campaign to help them into promotion contention, with the young winger alongside Dwight Gayle and Jay Rodriguez very much terrorising opposition defences throughout the campaign.

However, with the Englishman recalled by Claude Puel’s Foxes, alongside Sako’s move back to Premier League outfit Crystal Palace, a move for Newcastle’s Murphy makes complete sense, especially given how impressive he was for Norwich in the second tier a few years ago.

While the 23-year-old hasn’t quite been able to prove his worth to the North East giants since his move there back in 2017, there is no forgetting the level he produced during his time at Carrow Road in the 2016/17 season, which ultimately earned him the move to Newcastle.

The winger, capped six times at Under-21 level by England, bagged eight goals and laid on eight assists in 37 Championship appearances for the Canaries as they scored goals for fun to eventually finish eighth under Alex Neil - only Cameron Jerome (16) and Nelson Oliviera (11) scored more than Murphy for the Norfolk-based outfit.

Clearly then, the 23-year-old has great pedigree at second tier level just waiting to be unleashed once again, and with Newcastle reportedly (as per the BBC) closing in on a move for the highly-rated Almiron, that is only likely to push Murphy even further down Benitez’s pecking order.

And with reports recently (as per The Express and Star) suggesting that the winger would be allowed to leave were improvements brought in to that area of the field, the door is very much ajar for Moore to finally lure the Baggies target to West Brom.

West Brom fans… what do you think? Let us know!