Signings put on show for Rafa and fans

NEWCASTLE United still have a heck of a lot of transfer business to do, but at least progress has been made over the last week.

Two further additions have been made in the shape of Jacob Murphy and Javier Manquillo, and both made their debuts as secondhalf substitutes at Preston North End on Saturday.

There were glimpses of the exciting and direct running Murphy will bring to the’ wing this season, but it was the performance of another signing Florian Lejeune which really caught the eye.

Lejeune was handed his full debut in the 1-1 draw at Deepdale – after being given the second-half at Hearts during the first pre-season friendly – and he looked calm and composed.

The Frenchman is comfortable on the ball; he is always willing to receive possession and even advance into midfield in order to link up with his team-mates.

Lejeune also rarely put a foot wrong. He covered across to intercept attempted through-balls and also bailed his team-mates out of some tough spots.

Admittedly he was probably caught a little short for Tom Barkhuizen’s equaliser, but overall he was Newcastle’s best defender on the day.

As for Murphy, the new £10m addition from Norwich City was a second-half substitute.

He was first introduced on the right-wing, and managed a couple of darting runs into the box, including one which freed up Jack Colback who laid on a chance for Siem de Jong.

After reverting to the left-wing, Murphy once again displayed his raw pace by flicking the ball past his full-back on a couple of occasions – but both times he slightly overhit the ball and lost possession

Perhaps he was just a little too keen to impress, but there were certainly glimpses of his talent.

Manquillo, the ex-Atletico Madrid defender, was given just 13 minutes to impress – and it was not at fullback as expected.

Instead, he was introduced on the right-wing.

A couple of crosses aside, Manquillo barely had time to make an impact, although he did link up well with DeAndre Yedlin, with both right-sided players offering a two-pronged attacking threat.

Like Murphy, it seems as if Manquillo will have to wait for Wednesday trip to Bradford City before he can make an impact.