Tug-of-war alert: England boss Tuchel watches Eric Chelle's target Murphy bag assist v Man Utd

England boss Thomas Tuchel was in attendance at St. James' Park on Sunday evening as Newcastle United thrashed Manchester United 4-1 to move into the top four in the Premier League table, going above Manchester City, Chelsea and Aston Villa.

The German football tactician was in the stands to run the rule over Three Lions players Nick Pope, Tino Livramento, Mason Mount, Luke Shaw, Kobbie Mainoo, Anthony Gordon, Callum Wilson and Dan Burn, who were all given minutes during the matchday 32 clash. 

Daily Mail's chief football reporter Craig Hope speculated that Tuchel also came to watch the in-form Newcastle winger Jacob Murphy. 

Murphy's rising stock could trigger an international tug of war as he is one of the dual-national players on the radar of Super Eagles manager Eric Chelle ahead of this summer's Unity Cup.

A late bloomer, Murphy is eligible to represent the three-time African champions through his father, as well as the Republic of Ireland and England. 

The Magpies star has represented the Young Lions at various youth levels and has been provisionally cap-tied to the 1966 world champions since 2013.

With Tuchel watching on, Murphy continued his standout season with a 19th goal contribution (8 goals, 11 assists), teeing up Harvey Barnes—who claimed Man of the Match—for Newcastle's second in the 49th minute. 

Including the League Cup final, Newcastle United have now won five games in a row in all competitions, after beating Manchester United home and away in the same campaign for the first time in almost a century.

In what was his thirty-fourth appearance of the season, Murphy made way for Anthony Gordon with twelve minutes of regulation time remaining. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: newcastleunited.com

Copyright ANS
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from allnigeriasoccer.com