Eddie Howe admitted that Jacob Murphy was a player he could not drop despite Newcastle United's 4-2 loss at Brentford.

Murphy was subbed at the Gtech Community Stadium but was still one of the first names on the team sheet against Leicester City in the Premier League. With Miguel Almiron's agonising wait for a top-flight start now stretching beyond two months it feels inevitable that the Paraguay international star could be traded in January to help conjure up some much-needed spending money.

It had looked like it could be a day to forget for Murphy as he missed two guilt-edged chances to spark groans from the crowd, but he made no mistake with a goal in each half.

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Howe was quick to praise Murphy after he netted his first goals of the season and he explained why he got the nod over Almiron. Howe said: "I'm really pleased because every attacking player needs to feel they're contributing and naturally you contribute in assists and goals. Jacob got two assists last week, that wasn't lost on me.

"But ultimately, nothing beats scoring, so for him to score two after missing a couple of chances early on shows his mental qualities and resilience. Two great finishes."

Howe hinted that he is likely to hold on to Murphy for the foreseeable future too, he went on: "He's a really valuable player because wherever you put him or whatever you ask him to do, he does it to the best of his ability. For me, he's come on leaps and bounds since I've been here, but he has to feel that feeling of contribution, so today was important."