Reported targets Dean Whitehead and Daryl Murphy will not be joining Ipswich and will both stay in the Premiership.
Town have had a combined £5 million bid accepted by Sunderland for the two players, with one report claiming that Whitehead would be made into captain at Portman Road should the deal go through. Murphy is said to make up £1.2 million of the deal.
Just yesterday Hull gaffer Phil Brown appeared to throw out suggestions that he was after striker Murphy, who has netted 16 times in over 100 games for Sunderland: ‘I got a call over the weekend saying he was on his way to another football club and would I be interested in taking him.
‘I think he’s a decent striker myself but we haven’t made any enquiries.’
Sounds like his agent was using Ipswich as a way of getting his client a couple of extra thousand a week. Brown today confirmed that he is closing in on Murphy: ‘It’s advanced and we’ve spoken to Sunderland and agreed terms. Hopefully in the next 48 hours it might progress to a stage where we can complete a medical.’
Murphy was thought to have undergone a medical at Portman Road but that deal is now off.
Whitehead is now thought to be off to Stoke, with Wigan’s Lee Cattermole going to the Stadium of Light to replace him. Both players would have to take a large pay cut to join Town, something they appear unwilling to do.
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