JACOB MURPHY claims to have fulfilled a ‘lifetime ambition’ by signing for Newcastle United, and cannot wait to put his muted St James’ Park celebrations behind him.

Murphy signed a five-year deal yesterday to complete a £12.5m move from Norwich City – Newcastle will pay around £10m of the fee up front, with the remainder comprising a series of add-ons – and will take part in his first full session at the Magpies’ training camp in Ireland later today.

The 22-year-old might have been born and raised close to Wembley in North London, but both of his parents hail from the North-East and, like his twin brother Josh, he was a Newcastle supporter from his earliest days.

He used to make family trips to Tyneside to watch the Magpies, and admits he had to pinch himself when Rafael Benitez confirmed his interest in signing him earlier this summer.

“My mother is from Birtley, my dad a little further up in Ashington, and the rest of my family are all from Gateshead,” said Murphy, whose signature will be followed by confirmation of the capture of full-back Javier Manquillo, which is expected later today. “They’ve always been Newcastle fans, so that’s who I chose to follow.

“The first game I went to with my brother, my dad took us to watch it, was against PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Cup. It was a 2-1 win, with Alan Shearer and Gary Speed getting the goals.

“I watched Laurent Robert and Olivier Bernard when I was growing up. They used to really stick out. Laurent Robert had a wand of a left foot and used to cannon everything in. Alan Shearer is a God at Newcastle – you can’t forget some of those names.”

Murphy has spent the last three years progressing through Norwich’s academy system, and the winger really sprang to prominence last season when he scored in both of the Canaries’ matches against Newcastle.

His domestic form earned him a place in England’s Under-21 squad for this summer’s European Championships, and his performances in Poland meant he was always going to be a prized asset once he returned to home soil.

Norwich rejected Newcastle’s first offer, but Benitez kept on pushing Lee Charnley to lodge an improved bid, and a deal was eventually agreed at the start of this week.

Murphy is the Magpies’ third summer signing, following Christian Atsu and Florian Lejeune, and having refused to celebrate last season when he scored at St James’ Park in a remarkable game that saw Norwich suffer a last-gasp 4-3 defeat, he cannot wait to break his Gallowgate duck in a black-and-white shirt.

“Last season with Norwich, none of the boys could hear each other,” he said, in an interview with Newcastle's official website. “All you could hear was the fans. I wanted to be part of that when I heard I had the opportunity to come and play here.”

Murphy’s arrival will quell of some of the mounting frustration that was starting to become evident as Newcastle failed to land a succession of targets, with Benitez having been keen to sign a new winger since the start of the January transfer window.

“He’s a young and talented player, and hopefully he can develop even more here,” said the Newcastle boss. “We hope he can show us the passion, commitment and ability that he showed in the Championship last season.”

Benitez remains keen to make further additions to his squad, although he has ruled out a move for long-term target James McCarthy, with Everton continuing to demand around £20m for the Republic of Ireland international.

“He (McCarthy) is a good player, but we now have a lot of them at this club,” said the Newcastle boss. “We have been linked with around 100 players, but he is not our first target at the moment.”

Benitez once again confirmed that striker Daryl Murphy will be leaving St James’ Park this summer, with a number of Championship clubs, including Sunderland, interested in adding him to their ranks.

“We are talking about different things in the Premier League, and we have some clubs asking about him,” he said. “We have been chatting at training in recent days, and he knows that if a club comes in, he will go on a permanent transfer once the deal is best for him and us.”