Ipswich Town goalkeeper Brian Murphy and midfielder Colin Healy are the latest squad members to be offered new contracts by the club, manager Paul Jewell has revealed.
Irish keeper Murphy has struggled for appearances this season due to the arrival of Marton Fulop in the summer as well as suffering three months on the sidelines with a broken ankle. Meanwhile Healy, who has had his own injury setback in recent months, has become something of a regular fixture in the Ipswich team under Jewell having rarely featured for previous boss Roy Keane.
Both players are among the many at Portman Road who are set to be out-of-contract in the summer, but manager Jewell has confirmed that he is looking to keep the pair beyond the end of the season.
‘I’ve spoken to the two lads and we are making them an offer,’ Jewell told local reporters. ‘Colin is a terrific lad and a good player. I know he wasn’t in the picture much before I came here but he’s done well and I’d like to keep him.
‘Brian has been injured and it’s always tricky when a new manager comes in and a player has been injured.’
The duo join team-mates Gareth McAuley and Damien Delaney in having been offered new contracts with the Blues, though whether any of them will sign on the dotted line remains to be seen. There is also no word as yet on the future of Town captain and top scorer David Norris, for whom the club are still trying to secure a new deal despite rumours that he has received big offers from elsewhere. However, some reports suggest that fellow midfielder Carlos Edwards has automatically received a one year extension to his contract due to an appearance clause in his current deal, which was triggered after the 32-year-old featured in Town’s 3-2 home win over Doncaster Rovers in January.
Meanwhile Jewell has also been discussing the futures of loanees Kieron Dyer and Jimmy Bullard. West Ham midfielder Dyer is currently set to return to Upton Park after Saturday’s home match against Crystal Palace with no word as yet on an extension, but the Blues are looking to retain the services of Hull City man Bullard beyond this season.
‘We are speaking to Hull to see what the situation is,’ Jewell told the East Anglian press. ‘It`s a difficult deal financially obviously, but if we possibly can make it work, we are interested in trying to do so.’
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