MARK Cooper was impressed by young Norwich City winger Jacob Murphy on his Swindon Town debut at Port Vale on Saturday.

Murphy, recruited on an initial one-month loan deal from the Premier League club, came off the bench just after the hour at Vale Park and produced a performance of strength, pace and trickery which bodes well for his stay in Wiltshire.

Town boss Cooper now knows he has options at his disposal to play a formation using out-and-out wingers, especially given Tijane Reis enjoyed a brief run-out at the end of the game after being out of action with a knee injury since mid-August.

“Young Jacob Murphy came in and showed glimpses of real pace and attacking threat,” said Cooper.

“We’ve got a few options now and it bodes well for the rest of the season.

“He’s rapidly quick and he’ll give us a threat carrying the ball up the pitch.

“With him and Pritch playing wide you’ve got a chance.

“It was nice to see Tijane back.

“We’ve got competition.

“We can go and play 4-4-2 and with those two up front we’ve got options.”