Jacob Murphy: The Missing Piece for Everton's Attack

Arne Slot’s name rarely gets a warm reception on the blue side of Merseyside. Yet it is the Dutchman, of all people, who may have summed up exactly why Jacob Murphy could be the next piece Everton badly need.

A Liverpool remark that fits Everton

Everton’s summer plan is clear enough: push from mid-table solidity towards European contention, and do it by adding real end product in the final third. Jack Grealish remains a headline target for a return to Hill Dickinson Stadium, but one player will not fix an attack that has too often run dry.

That is where Murphy comes in.

The Newcastle winger has been a steady, Premier League-proven presence for years. Not a superstar, not a marketing signing, but a forward who understands his job and delivers numbers. He stretches defences, works relentlessly, and, crucially, creates chances.

Slot spelled that out last season, long before Everton’s interest sharpened. Speaking ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Leeds United in December 2025, he admitted his own squad lacked Murphy’s specific qualities.

“It makes it harder for [Isak] compared to his time at Newcastle but I think it is also him adjusting to his teammates and his teammates adjusting to him,” Slot said. “But it is obvious and clear that we have not the profile of Jacob Murphy, for example, available at this moment at this time.”

Liverpool fans bristled at the comparison. The idea that their squad lacked the “profile of Jacob Murphy” did little to help Slot’s standing at Anfield. On the other side of Stanley Park, though, those words now read very differently.

They sound like a recruitment brief for Everton.

The profile Everton don’t have

Slot’s point was simple: Murphy is a winger whose first instinct is to serve the striker. He runs for others. He crosses early. He looks for the final ball.

That is exactly where Everton have been short.

Last season, the numbers were damning. They ranked 15th in the Premier League for shots on target per match, 15th for big chances created and 15th for touches in the opposition box, according to FotMob. Safe from the drop, yes, but nowhere near the creativity levels of a side with European ambitions.

Murphy, by contrast, sat at the heart of Newcastle’s supply line. He created more big chances than any other player in Eddie Howe’s squad. Ten in total. At Everton, that tally would have put him joint-second, level with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and only two behind James Garner.

This is not about fantasy football numbers. It is about profile. Everton’s wide players have too often cut inside without conviction, recycled the ball, or left their centre-forward isolated. Murphy’s game is more direct, more purposeful. He plays like a man who knows his primary job is to feed the No 9.

For a club that has struggled to turn territory into shots and shots into clear openings, that shift matters.

Newcastle’s stance and Everton’s need

Now, it looks increasingly like Newcastle are prepared to listen to offers. That alone changes the picture. A player who once felt firmly embedded in Howe’s rotation suddenly appears gettable.

For Everton, this is the kind of move that can tilt a season without breaking a wage structure or tearing up a dressing room hierarchy. Murphy is experienced enough to handle pressure, versatile enough to play on either flank, and selfless enough to complement, not crowd, the existing attacking options.

Slot’s comment, mocked at the time, now reads like an accidental endorsement of Everton’s transfer strategy. Liverpool did not have a Jacob Murphy profile. Everton, at the moment, do not either.

If the Toffees are serious about climbing towards Europe, that gap on the teamsheet cannot stay empty for much longer.