MICK MCCARTHY HAS branded offers for Ireland striker Daryl Murphy as “ridiculous”.
The Ipswich Town centre forward is a wanted man after finishing as the Championship’s top scorer last season, bagging 27 goals for the Tractor Boys.
Middlesborough have reportedly made a €6.3 million (£4.5m) bid for the 32-year-old Waterford native, while Sheffield Wednesday are believed to have enquired about the possibility of taking Murphy on loan.
“Is there any interest in him? Of course there is, he’s just scored 27 goals in a season and was outstanding,” said Ipswich boss McCarthy in the East Anglian Daily Times.
“I’ve even had one club ring up and ask if we would loan him. That was outstanding that!
“He said ‘just give me a one word answer’ because he knew that if he asked for a two word answer what the response would be. I had to think of something else sharp and witty, which I managed.
It was somewhat ridiculous. Maybe they were winding me up? I don’t know. I don’t think they were.
“You don’t want to lose your best players and I think we proved that last year when we turned down three-and-a-half million quid for Tyrone Mings,” he added. “We’ve just sold him for eight million quid, but that’s a different ball game.
“It was the same with David McGoldrick (who Leicester bid for last August) and I’m hoping it’s going to be the same with Daryl Murphy and that any interest can be staved off.”
