How Josh Murphy was convinced to join Cardiff City

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How Josh Murphy was convinced to join Cardiff City

Postby jimmy_rat » Thu Jul 19, 2018 5:58 pm

How Josh Murphy was convinced to join Cardiff City and why he'll blank his twin ahead of Newcastle United clash

The new signing also spoke about joining his twin Jacob, of Newcastle United, in the Premier League

ByDominic BoothDigital Sports Writer

The inside track on newly-promoted Newcastle United ahead of their clash with Cardiff City

Josh Murphy cannot help but admit his move to Cardiff City was a "no brainer".

Yet maybe a transfer that went through last summer made things easier for the former Norwich City winger than they might have been.

Josh watched as his twin Jacob sealed a £12million move to the Premier League in 2017, the pair separated for the first time in their lives after emerging through the ranks together, first at QPR and then at Carrow Road.

It fuelled his fire and already Murphy's mind is turning to Cardiff's first home clash of the coming season... against Jacob's Newcastle United of course. A special one for the family, he says.

The pair are close, Josh admits. But the allure of Premier League football has broken the union, with Jacob initially moving 254 miles away from Norwich to join Rafa Benitez's Toon revolution.


Josh has gone further, taking the 274-mile journey to Cardiff to be part of the Bluebirds' top flight return. The twins are now a whopping 315 miles from each other after living together throughout their time in East Anglia.

And although they have been in constant contact, Cardiff's Murphy admits the phone calls will not be so regular during the build-up to that tantalising Cardiff City Stadium clash on August 18.

"He's a Newcastle player, I'm a Cardiff player and for that 90 minutes everything goes out of the window," says Murphy, before adding with a smile: "If I have to crunch him in a tackle, I'm going to have to do that.

"We're not going to speak to each other too much because it's going to be a weird feeling. I've only played against him in training.

"We talk all the time. Like last season when he was at Newcastle we spoke about the league and the players so I'm not going into this season not knowing anything. He's given me tips and I feel ready to be in the Premier League."

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In an interview in January , Jacob said “the toughest thing about coming up (to Newcastle) was leaving Josh", but both seem to have matured to the point where the bond has been temporarily parked, with Premier League football and their respective clubs prioritised.

"We've had a couple of loans away from each other and now he's had that full season away from me," adds Josh.

"But we're big boys and we can look after ourselves. It's weird with twins, unless you're a twin you'll never really understand it."

The close-knit nature of the Cardiff squad Murphy has joined - after completing a move for £11m - is well documented.

It has helped Murphy assimilate with his new surroundings.

And the 23-year-old has started brightly, albeit against modest opposition in the shape of Tavistock and Bodmin Town , scoring his first two Bluebirds goals against the latter.

"It's quite a family unit," Murphy says, poignantly, about his new club.

"The lads have been quite welcoming and I'm feeling very happy down here. There are no cliques and that's something I needed to come in and settle in. The bond is second to none.

"Cardiff is a lovely city and I'm enjoying exploring it at the moment."

Murphy's eagerness to play Premier League football again, after having a brief taste of it with Norwich in 2013/14 as a raw teenager, was the deciding factor in sealing his transfer to the Bluebirds.

That and some persuasive words from Neil Warnock.

"It was a pretty quick (conversation), as soon as the manager spoke to me, I was sold," he adds. He sold the club brilliantly well to me and just the way he spoke to me and wanted to use me was right up my street. I thought it was a no-brainer.

"It's the biggest league in the world and you can't turn down an opportunity like that. Mixing it with the big boys is all I've ever wanted to do and now I've got that chance."

Maybe Murphy's prior experiences - as well as that desire to match his brother's achievements and strut his stuff in the top flight - played a part in the move too.

He admitted Warnock's side were a nightmare to play against as an attacking player and hopes the likes of Sol Bamba and Sean Morrison can shackle Mo Salah, Kevin De Bruyne and company in the coming season.

"Honestly and truthfully, Cardiff were a horrible team to play against last season," Murphy adds.

"I had no time on the ball, everyone was on you like a rash and for the type of player I am, I hate that. If we can adapt that for the big boys I'm sure a few of them might not fancy it. That might work in our favour.

"With the back four and the defenders we've got, they were one of the best in the Championship. Now it's about holding their own in the Premier League. I'm sure they'll be fine.

"Making the step up, you've got to grab the opportunity. On our day we can beat all the big teams."

And that sums up Murphy: desperate to grasp his opportunity, just like fellow new signing Bobby Reid , but also keen to be the best.

He might not be catching up with his twin so often these days, but if he can replicate or even better what Jacob has done in the past year with Newcastle, you suspect Josh Murphy would be fairly content.
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How Josh Murphy was convinced to join Cardiff City

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