Town are reported to have turned down a £4.5 million offer from Middlesbrough for striker Daryl Murphy.

According to the Irish Independent, the Blues have rebuffed the bid, which was first reported in the Irish Sun this morning, with Boro said to have had an earlier offer of around £4 million previously turned down.

Three weeks ago, the Irish Sun reported that Town had rejected a previous £2.5 million bid from the Teessiders for Murphy.

The 32-year-old Irish international has been the subject of much speculation since netting 27 goals during 2014/15 with clubs from both the Premier League and Championship reported to have shown interest and we understand Boro were amongst those to make an enquiry earlier in the summer.

Last week, Cardiff City were reported to have ended their pursuit of Murphy, Town having apparently quoted them a fee in excess of £4 million. West Brom are believed to be the most interested of the linked Premier League clubs.

Speaking yesterday, manager Mick McCarthy reiterated his intention to keep the Irish international at Portman Road: “We don’t want to sell Daryl Murphy, we don’t want to lose Daryl Murphy.

“He’s still on a break because he’s only had a couple of weeks [off since being away with Ireland]. That’s what I’ll be telling him, and his agent - we want to keep him.

“He was the outstanding striker in this league last season and it would be difficult to fill his boots. We’re going to try and keep him.”

Murphy, who previously played in the North-East with Sunderland, has said on a number of occasions he that he has no intention of leaving Town as he and his family are settled in Suffolk.

The Waterford-born frontman signed a new contract with Town last July, which has another year left to run with the Blues having an option to extend it for a further season.

Elsewhere, former Blues loanee Chris Wood, 23, has joined Leeds United from Leicester City, signing a four-year deal, the clubs having agreed a fee reported to be in the region of £2 million.

Photo: Action Images

warktheline added 20:08 - Jul 1 Not every club has money, and might I add, the current owner is NOT to blame for our financial predicament. Step forward Mr. Sheepshanks and please take a bow! Guess it's not all bad folks, didn't we make the play offs on a shoestring !
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PJH added 20:09 - Jul 1 Hello blueboy. I was thinking that maybe your contract with TWTD expired on 30th June and that you had signed for a Premier League Fanzine website on a free. Not sure if Murphy would be too bothered in this case because I doubt if he would be interested in a move to another Championship side.If an offer came from a Premier League side and it was rejected then maybe he would not be "a happy chappie".

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Pip50 added 20:23 - Jul 1 What's Sheepshanks got to do with fair play rules. We decide conveniently to stick to them others don't . You only have to look at the odds for our first game against Brentford to work out our prospects next season thats without money bags parachute teams coming down. If only we. Old look forward to some football entertainment.
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