Alex Murphy has revealed he believes the time was right to leave Newcastle United on loan.

The 20-year-old has barely featured this season, with just a handful of unused substitute appearances so far in the 2024/25 campaign. But he has been unable to get close to challenging Lewis Hall with Matt Targett now considered back-up left-back.

Murphy, speaking after agreeing a loan move to Bolton Wanderers, said: "I've been around the first team at Newcastle for maybe a year and a bit now, so I've learned a lot from them and training with the first team.

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"It's been great, but I think finally now is the right time to go out and play first-team minutes because that's where you prove yourself, against men in this league, so I'm delighted to be here with a chance to show what I can do.

"It’s a massive step for me to get to a club like this and show what I can do for the rest of this season and hopefully show that I'm ready when I go back to play in the Premier League, which is obviously my aim."

Murphy made his Premier League debut during last season’s 4-1 victory over Chelsea and signed a new long-term contract last term. The youngster was signed from local side Galway United in 2022.

Bolton boss Ian Evatt said: "He’s a young player we have tracked for a long time. He’s been in and around Newcastle’s squad and been on the bench a lot.

"He’s an international footballer who will give us flexibility, who can play centre-back, wing-back or full-back with an eye on us having the option to potentially change shape in the future.

"We’re really happy to have him here as someone we believe has the potential to go on and become a very good player. We’re always looking to bring in players we think can help us improve and he will give us some good options moving forwards."