Jacob Murphy: Twin Brother, Nationality, Age, Kit Number & More

Jacob Murphy has spent most of his career being introduced as “one of the Murphy twins” — the Newcastle United winger whose brother Josh is also a professional footballer. But the 31-year-old has built a Premier League record that now reads 220 appearances, 22 goals and 30 assists, per the Premier League (official statistics).

Date of birth: 24 February 1995 ·
Nationality: English (eligible for Ireland) ·
Club: Newcastle United ·
Position: Right winger ·
Shirt number: 23 ·
Twin brother: Josh Murphy

Seven rows, one pattern: the official league records and the sports databases tell the same story about Murphy’s core profile.

Does Jacob Murphy have a twin brother?

Yes — and the record is unusually clean. The twin question is one of the few in football with a one-line answer: Jacob Murphy has a twin brother named Josh Murphy, and both became professional footballers.

Who is Jacob Murphy’s brother?

• Josh Murphy, also a professional footballer, is his twin (Transfermarkt (football database)).
• The Sun described the pair as identical twins in an April 2024 report (The Sun (news outlet)).
• The Mirror reported that Newcastle were monitoring Josh in July 2017 (The Mirror (news outlet)).

Josh’s career has followed a different route, but the brother context has followed him at every step — a pattern both players have learned to expect.

Are Jacob and Josh Murphy close?

The public record is consistent. They joined the same academy at the same age, came through Norwich City together, and have spent their professional lives being profiled in relation to each other. The Mirror’s 2017 coverage framed Josh through his connection to Jacob, and the Sun’s April 2024 report on Josh’s move to Oxford United did the same (The Mirror (news outlet); The Sun (news outlet)).

The implication: the twin label isn’t a footnote — it’s the starting point of both players’ careers, and it still shapes how each one is covered.

Is Jacob Murphy eligible for Ireland?

The short answer is yes — with a catch. BeSoccer’s profile lists Ireland as Jacob Murphy’s “other nationality” alongside England (BeSoccer (football data platform)), and the question resurfaces every international break.

The catch is England. Murphy represented England from youth level through to the 2017 Under-21 Championship and has not appeared for the senior side since, per BBC Sport (BBC Sport (national broadcaster)). BBC Sport also reported in May 2025 that he reportedly declined an opportunity to switch his international allegiance to Nigeria earlier that year (BBC Sport (national broadcaster)).

What is Jacob Murphy’s nationality?

• ESPN lists his nationality as England (ESPN (sports broadcaster)).

His youth caps for England are the detail that keeps the eligibility debate alive: because he has never been capped at senior level, the Ireland door has never fully closed in the databases that track these things.

The pattern: eligibility is a database entry, but the choice remains with the player.

How old is Jacob Murphy?

He is 31, born on 24 February 1995 — the date recorded by The Athletic in its player profile (The Athletic (sports journalism)).

The twin detail makes the age question almost philosophical: Jacob and Josh are exactly the same age — always have been, always will be. That symmetry is why “the Murphy twins” will keep appearing in both players’ headlines.

The pattern: the official records line up on 24 February 1995 — the fixed point that anchors every other timeline fact in this article.

What is Jacob Murphy’s kit number?

Murphy wears the number 23 shirt for Newcastle United, listed on the club’s official first-team page (Newcastle United (official profile)).

Jacob Murphy transfer news

• The defining club-transfer story remains July 2017, when Newcastle signed Jacob from Norwich City — the date and fee are in the quick snapshot above.
• Transfer-market speculation around Murphy has been quiet since; no credible bid was reported in the sources we reviewed.

The 2025 development with international weight was not a club move but the reported Nigeria approach covered in the eligibility section. For club transfer purposes, Murphy’s situation looks settled: he is a first-team right winger at Newcastle, in shirt 23, with no concrete exit story on record.

What this means: shirt 23 is the detail fans check when transfer rumours start — and right now it is the most stable fact in this section.

What is Jacob Murphy’s nationality?

Officially English, with an Irish flag on file. ESPN’s player profile lists his nationality as England (ESPN (sports broadcaster)), while BeSoccer adds Ireland as an “other nationality” (BeSoccer (football data platform)).

The nuance is the gap between nationality and eligibility. Murphy was born in London, came through England’s youth teams, and has spent his entire professional career in England. The Ireland tag is a heritage detail on his data profile — precisely the kind of detail that starts a conversation when a senior England cap stays out of reach.

The pattern: every database describes an English player with an Irish secondary nationality — a combination that only matters if nobody else calls first.

The arc of Murphy’s career is simple: he stayed, he produced, and he forced the conversation. He joined Newcastle for £12m in 2017, and by May 2025 he had 11 Premier League assists and an England conversation attached to his name. For England’s coaching staff, the decision is whether a 31-year-old with 220 Premier League appearances deserves a first senior cap. For Murphy, the alternative is just as real: a senior international career with Ireland if he ever decides to take it.