What Sheffield Wednesday winger Jacob Murphy said about coronavirus crisis in fooball

The on-loan Newcastle United man made his comments before the EFL announced that it was due to meet on Friday morning to discuss suspending the Championship season amid concerns over the outbreak.

Its move comes after Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi confirmed on Thursday night that they had both tested positive for Covid-19.

But speaking to the media before details of Arteta and Hudson-Odoi’s diagnosis had been revealed, Murphy said he believed playing games behind closed doors was not the solution.

“The fans create the atmosphere and give the players the drive,” he said. “Maybe it would end up feeling like a training game, because there’s no atmosphere.”

The £10m 25-year-old winger, on a season-loan from the Magpies, spoke ahead of his side’s scheduled Championship fixture with Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough on Saturday.

Evangelos Marinakis, the Forest owner, revealed earlier this week that he had been diagnosed with coronavirus,

Forest players and staff tested negative after the Greek businessman had reportedly met with them before the home defeat with Millwall last Friday.

And Murphy gave a brief insight into how and his teammates had been taking precautions against contracting the virus.

“We just have to keep washing our hands, basically,” he said. “All we can do is look after ourselves and make sure we are not passing it on. We just have to be safe.”