Southampton are reportedly interested in signing Irish youngster Adam Murphy.
According to TEAMTalk, Saints are one of many clubs interested in the 18-year-old’s services.
The centre midfielder currently plays for St Patrick’s in the Irish top flight and has been excellent in his breakthrough season at the club.
The Ireland U21 international played 22 minutes of the Irish Cup final on the weekend, as they lifted the trophy, winning the game 3-1. His performances, including the one in the final, have brought a number of scouts from various clubs to take a look at him.
Some of the other clubs include Derby, Crystal Palace and European champions Manchester City.
Bristol City are believed to have tried to sign him in the summer window, but a move did not come to fruition.
Murphy’s contract is set to expire at the end of the month, so he would be available on a pre-contract deal, with the club that gets him having to pay £200,000 to St Patrick’s to sign him.
Palace are said to have an advantage in that they have bought youngsters from Ireland before (Killian Phillips from Drogheda in 2022). Murphy and Phillips both also have the same agency, so Palace would already have a good relationship with them.
Should Saints sign Murphy?
This move would make sense for the Saints given their transfer strategy of signing young players to develop for the first team.
They have recently been linked with signing some more young players ahead of January, with the likes of Jadel Katongo and Darren Robinson linked.
It will be interesting to see if Russell Martin’s side can sway Murphy away from a move to the champions of Europe.