Why Daryl Murphy Would Be A Great Signing For Birmingham City
Times have been tough at Birmingham City in recent years but with Harry Redknapp now firmly on board as the manager, things could be different in the second city next season.
The club have, on the face of it, a hellish job during the transfer window to transform a squad that was so nearly relegated from the Championship to League One. In Redknapp though, they now have a manger capable of attracting decent players and playing an attacking brand of football too.
To his credit, Harry Redknapp will not be happy to settle for mid-table or even a top 6 finish. He will see this as an opportunity to turn Birmingham from relegation scrappers to title contenders in a few short months.
Some fans are attributing much of their poor form last term to the management of Gianfranco Zola, though they must admit that the squad of players is nowhere near good enough right now. A lot of names have been touted as potential arrivals but I feel that Daryl Murphy is the one who Birmingham need next season.
The former Ipswich Town player did not receive a lot of game time at Newcastle under Rafa Benitez, perhaps not surprisingly, and despite his quality, he is not a player who would be en vogue with Premier League clubs and is likely to stay at this level.
Hard working, good in the air and deceptively good on the ground too, Murphy is a proven goal scorer in this league and would most likely guarantee Birmingham 15 goals plus if he plays every week. Given that he had Dwight Gayle and Aleksandar Mitrovic ahead of him at St James’ Park pecking order, he did very well with the opportunities he was afforded and scored some crucial goals, such as his cute finish away at Huddersfield Town.
The potential ‘glamour’ signings will definitely bring the crowds in but fewer transfer targets could provide more crucial output than Murphy. It is hard to put across just how valuable 15 league goals from one player could be and I fully believe that this is the level Murphy is at.
Murphy possesses quality and so should Birmingham have decent full-backs and wingers to provide crosses, they would undoubtedly have a goal machine on their hands.