Transfer Centre

Daryl Murphy swaps Ipswich Town for Newcastle United

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 28 August 2016

Daryl Murphy leaves Ipswich Town after five seasons at the club to join Championship promotion favourites Newcastle United on a permanent deal.

Daryl Murphy has joined Newcastle United from Championship rivals Ipswich Town on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

The 33-year-old becomes the Magpies' 10th signing of the summer after bringing to an end his five-season spell at Portman Road.

Murphy struck 67 goals in 225 appearances for the Tractor Boys, with 27 of those coming in the 2014-15 campaign when he topped the division's scoring charts.

Capped 23 times by the Republic of Ireland, including at this summer's European Championship finals in France, Murphy claims that joining Newcastle was an easy decision to make once their interest became official.

"I'm absolutely delighted to get it over the line and really looking forward to it," he told his new side's official website. "When I knew the club was interested, it was a no-brainer for me so I'm happy it's all done.

"I think with the squad of players that the club have now, there's no reason why we shouldn't be there or thereabouts come the end of the season."

Rafael Benitez, who has been given funds to heavily strengthen his squad this window, added: "Daryl has experience and has proven that he can score goals in the Championship.

"He gives us another option in attack and we could see from this weekend's game against Brighton that we needed more bodies up front. Daryl has a good attitude and he can be very important for us this season."

Murphy has appeared four times for Ipswich this season, but Town boss Mick McCarthy was forced to leave him out for the win over Preston North End on Saturday and admits to being "disappointed" at losing his leading marksman.