Town boss Paul Jewell says that as things stand it will be very difficult for the Blues to bring Daryl Murphy back to the club from Celtic for the season ahead on a permanent basis. Murphy, 29, impressed during his second loan spell at Portman Road last season.
Jewell said: "I’ve spoken with Daryl’s agent a few times and if they want a fee, with his wages, we just can’t afford it. It’s no secret that Daryl’s on a good contract at Celtic.
"I thought he did well for us at the back end of the season. We would be interested in Daryl if the deal was right, but I get the feeling that it’s going to be an expensive deal for us to do.”
He says the player himself is realistic about the position: "I spoke to Daryl at the back end of the season and told him that we’d be interested. But he’s a sensible lad, he knows that the wages he’s on at Celtic are beyond us.”
However, Jewell says that Murphy’s situation, like that of fringe players at Premier League clubs, could change the nearer we get to the end of the transfer window: "Daryl will be like the players at top clubs in the Premier League that we’ve asked about.
"Once they’ve had their pre-season, they’ve got to name 25 players [in their squad]. They don’t want to name 25 players in their squad [and let players go] in case someone does a cruciate and that player is out for a year. It’s a bit of a waiting game.”
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