TWIN PEAKS
The identical Murphy brothers will be on OPPOSITE sides in the top flight tomorrow
Josh Murphy holds his phone and taps the buttons to make a video call. A few rings later up pops a face that, to the untrained eye, is indistinguishable from his.
Identical twin brother Jacob is smiling back. ‘hiiiya mate,’ he says with a funny wave.
‘hiiiya mate,’ comes the reply and similar flick of the hand.
Evidently, this is their customary greeting, an amusing routine engrained after 23 years together. The pair are apart right now, separated by 320 miles of the country, with Josh down in Cardiff and Jacob up in Newcastle.
But tomorrow provides a chance for a reunion. Their teams meet in south Wales and their family hopes they will line up in opposition for the first time in their careers. Michael and Will Keane were the first twins to clash in a premier League game in 2016, but the Murphy brothers have the added curiosity of being identical and playing in the same wing position.
In their first national newspaper interview together, Jacob says: ‘It would be a weird situation to start with but everything gets put to the side when it comes to the game. you have to focus. I would see him as just my opponent.’
Josh says: ‘We are there to win. We will be going at it. But once the final whistle goes, we are back to being family.’
After a decade progressing through the ranks in tandem at Norwich — being key figures in the side that broke Chelsea’s FA youth Cup dominance by winning at stamford Bridge in 2013 — each Murphy had to leave Carrow road to get back into the premier League.
Jacob went to Newcastle last summer, Josh to Cardiff this. Norwich sources say both transfer fees were £11million, although there is jovial sibling rivalry when price tags are mentioned. ‘Mine was more expensive,’ says Jacob.
‘That’s what he thinks,’ responds Josh, who this week was ending his stay at Cardiff’s radisson hotel to move into an apartment in the bay area of the city.
After a life spent alongside his brother, it is a new beginning.
‘ I’m older by two minutes, although I quite often forget,’ Josh says. ‘To start with I found it hard being away from him. he did a lot for me, all my talking. When he wasn’t there, when he signed for Newcastle, I felt kind of lost.
‘It was just getting used to that transition. Now I feel like a new person, I’ve become more independent. And I’m just excited to see where this season goes.’
Josh made his Cardiff debut last week by coming off the bench at Bournemouth with 30 minutes left, giving glimpses of the speed and technique that attracted Neil Warnock.
‘our team spirit is the biggest strength,’ he says. ‘And the manager’s enthusiasm is unreal. he is like a 30-year- old. I can see us proving a lot of people wrong.’
Jacob was left out of rafa Benitez’s squad for the season’s opener against Tottenham but is working hard for a recall.
‘The manager says there will be chances,’ he adds. ‘It is down to me to take them. I am not the finished article.
‘Josh would say that about himself. We cannot rest on our laurels and think we’ve made it.’
Coaches at Norwich say that such a mentality was with them from an early age. repetitive practice was done with weaker feet to ensure they could be dangerous off right or left and there was a constant desire to improve.
‘Growing up, we would take it in turns to lead the way,’ says Jacob. ‘one season Josh would be better, the next season I’d be better. At around 16 it clicked for both of us.’
They also took advantage of a telepathic understanding born from that umbilical bond. There is a clip of Josh playing a 50-yard ball to Jacob in the FA youth Cup final without even looking. ‘I had no right to do the pass, I just knew he would be there,’ he says. There was some gentle ribbing from teammates when possession became too monopolised at senior level.
Jacob laughs. ‘If I felt Josh was always the best option to pass to, or I was always the best option for Josh, why wouldn’t we do it?’
Their intuition was not confined to the field. Jacob says: ‘Many a time we would wake up in the morning, meet on the landing, and be wearing the same tracksuit, same coloured trainers, everything. Just by accident... why did we even do that Josh?’ ‘I don’t know! It happened too many times for it to be a coincidence.’
They can mumble words to each other and know the meaning, and Josh also revels in the time they won a duo battle on the computer game Fortnite despite their microphones failing midway through.
‘It is intense and you need to communicate with your team to do well,’ he says. ‘ I don’t know how we did it. I called Jacob straight after, he was dying with laughter.’
When the moment comes to hang up, they each say bye several times, almost challenging the other to press the red button first.
‘If you put player cams on both of us in general life you’d think we were a pair of weirdos,’ Josh says. ‘The last time I was in Newcastle, leaving Jacob, I was walking to my car parked round the corner.
‘I turned the corner, came back, said bye. Then Jacob popped his head out, bye. Back and forth. We said it like ten times.’ They will be saying hello to the whole Murphy clan tomorrow. Mum Maxine, dad John, two Geordies and Newcastle fans, and brother Daniel, are travelling over from Norfolk with a host of aunties, uncles and cousins, wishing both get on the pitch.
If that happens, Josh says that ‘it will be interesting to see who comes out on top’.
he adds: ‘We are twins, we know what the other is going to do.’
May the best Murphy win!