Norwich City Along with his twin brother,
Josh, he first played football from the age of seven, and eventually they both joined
Norwich City as under-12s in 2006. It was announced on 31 March 2011 that the duo were to join the club's academy ahead of a new season. Murphy was a part of the Norwich City youth team which won the
2012–13 FA Youth Cup. He signed his first professional contract for Norwich City on 4 January 2013. In December 2013, he signed a three-year contract with the club. Murphy made his professional debut in a
FA Cup match against
Fulham on 4 January 2014. Murphy made his first Norwich City appearance in the 2014–15 season, where he provided an assist for his twin brother, Josh, to score in a 3–1 win over
Crawley Town in the second round of the League Cup.
Loan spells On 7 February 2014, he joined
Swindon Town on loan which began on 8 February, and lasted until 8 March 2014. Murphy made his debut for the club on 8 February 2014, when he came on as a second-half substitute for
Dany N'Guessan in a 3–2 win over
Port Vale. After making six appearances, Murphy returned to Norwich City after Swindon Town delayed their decision to extend his loan. On 27 March 2014, Murphy joined
League Two club
Southend United on loan for the remainder of the
2013–14 season. He made his Southend debut days later, when he came on as a substitute and provided the winning goal in a 1–0 win over
Torquay United. He scored his first goal for the club and provided an assist in a 3–1 win over
Rochdale on 18 April 2014. He went on to make eight appearances for the club, including in the play-offs, but was unable to help the club get promoted to League One. On 3 November 2014, he joined
Blackpool on loan until 2 February 2015. He scored on his debut two days later in a 2–2 draw with
Fulham. He scored again on 22 November 2014, in a 1–1 draw with
Bolton Wanderers. His performances at Blackpool earned him the club's Player of the Month award for November. The following month, Murphy caused controversy when he posted an image on social media application
Snapchat with the caption "We are going to lose... Again", which mocked the club's recent league form. Murphy issued an apology via the club's official website, admitting it was an unprofessional and foolish thing to do; however,
Lee Clark vowed to investigate this matter before taking action. Blackpool cut short his loan deal on 31 December. After his loan spell at Blackpool came to an end, Murphy joined
League One club
Scunthorpe United on a month-long loan. Two days later on 10 January 2015, he made his Scunthorpe United debut, making his first start, where he provided an assist for
Tom Hopper, who was also making his debut, in a 4–1 win over
Walsall. After making three appearances for the club, Murphy's loan spell with Scunthorpe United came to an end. Murphy next joined League One club
Colchester United on loan until the end of the season. He made his Colchester United debut on 14 March 2015 on the right wing, in a 3–2 loss to
Crawley Town. He then scored in the next game against
Yeovil Town on 17 March 2015, which Colchester won 2–0. He scored two goals in two games in three days against Port Vale and
Barnsley. The last two games of the season saw Murphy score in a 1–1 draw against Swindon Town and he then helped the club survive relegation when they beat
Preston North End. On 14 August 2015, Murphy signed for
Coventry City on a season-long loan deal. He had a successful full season there, scoring 10 times in 42 games, with nine of the goals coming in the league.
Return to Norwich City Murphy scored his first goal for Norwich in a 4–1 win over
Blackburn Rovers on 6 August 2016. His first full season at Norwich yielded 10 goals in 40 games, including nine in the league.
Newcastle United Murphy signed for
Newcastle United for an undisclosed fee on 19 July 2017. He cited Newcastle United as his boyhood team and stated that it was his dream to represent the club. Murphy's parents were born in the local area and he has family members from Newcastle's neighbouring town
Gateshead. Murphy scored his first goal for United in a 3–1 loss to
Manchester City on 20 January 2018.
Loan to West Bromwich Albion On 31 January 2019, Murphy joined
West Bromwich Albion on loan until August.
Loan to Sheffield Wednesday On 8 August 2019, Murphy joined
Sheffield Wednesday on loan until the end of the season. Murphy ended his loan spell with nine goals from 39 league appearances for the
Owls, ending the season as the club's second top scorer behind
Steven Fletcher.
Return to Newcastle United On 7 July 2021, Murphy signed a contract extension with Newcastle United. On 23 April 2023, he scored a brace within the first ten minutes in a 6–1 win over
Tottenham Hotspur. In the
2024–25 Premier League season, Murphy cemented his spot in the Newcastle United starting eleven after a run of good of form, scoring three goals and providing four assists in December, leading him to be nominated for
Premier League Player of the Month; he then became the only right winger at the club after the sale of
Miguel Almirón. On 16 March 2025 Murphy started in the
2025 EFL Cup final and assisted the second goal in a 2–1 victory, becoming part of the first Newcastle United team to win a major domestic trophy in 70 years. Murphy had also scored in the semi-final against Arsenal to help the club to success. On 9 May 2025, Jacob Murphy won the PFA's Premier League Fans' Player of the Month award for April. On 11 May 2025, in a home game against Chelsea, with a second minute assist for
Sandro Tonali; Jacob Murphy reached 20
Premier League goal involvements (12 assists, 8 goals) in a season for the first time in his career. ==International career==