On the day Jacob Murphy signed for Newcastle, he joined in a rondo training drill with his new team-mates. As the ball slipped under his foot and skidded into the distance, Jonjo Shelvey quipped: ‘Ooh, look what £12million gets you these days’.
Murphy laughed - he always has been a sound and popular character - but the comment, given how his first few seasons on Tyneside played out, was somewhat prophetic and not without ironic substance.
I was there that sunny afternoon at the grand Carton House near Dublin, during a pre-season training camp under the charge of Rafa Benitez.