Celtic outcast Murphy joins Ipswich Town on loan deal

Murphy, who has represented the Republic of Ireland nine times, returns to Suffolk having enjoyed five months on loan at Portman Road from Sunderland in 2009/10.

The player completed a switch from the Stadium of Light to Celtic last summer, scoring three times in 21 appearances in his debut campaign north of the border, although he is yet to feature this season after struggling to force his way into Neil Lennon’s first-team plans.

The 28-year-old has not ruled out remaining at Ipswich beyond next May.

“I’m looking forward to playing for the club again and we will see how it goes from there,” Murphy told Town’s official website yesterday.

“If I do well and the manager wants to extend my stay beyond the year then I certainly would be interested but for now all I want to concentrate on is playing games.”

Murphy hadn’t expected to be swapping Celtic Park for Portman Road, adding: “It came out of the blue really, I had a call from my agent to say Ipswich were interested and it was a no brainer for me really.

“I know the club and the area from my time here before. Some of the lads that were at the club then are still here and I know Michael Chopra from our time at Sunderland.”

Murphy’s switch came on the same day that Ipswich also signed out-of-contract midfielder Jimmy Bullard.

Bullard, linked with a move to Celtic last year, saw his deal terminated by Hull last week, with the 32-year-old having not featured this term after being suspended following an incident on a pre-season trip to Slovenia.

The former Fulham favourite’s availability alerted a handful of top-flight clubs – including QPR, with whom he held talks – but Bullard has opted to pen a two-year deal with Ipswich, where he enjoyed a successful three-month loan spell last season.

And manager Paul Jewell is delighted with the reunion, telling the club’s official website: “We had been chipping away at Jimmy and Hull all summer to try to sort something out but Hull were adamant that he wouldn’t be going out on loan again unless someone paid his wages.

“He had a few clubs to talk to but Jimmy made it clear that if we could sort out a deal then coming here would be his preference. It’s a great feeling to know that even though he had the opportunity to go to a Premier League team he still wanted the opportunity to come here.

“Hopefully he can do what he did for us last year and beyond.”

The move is sure to delight Ipswich supporters, who voted Bullard their Player of the Year last season despite spending only three months at Portman Road.

Defender Ibrahima Sonko is expected to follow Bullard and Murphy to Ipswich in the coming days.

The 30-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Portsmouth, is expected to sign a one-year contract following a successful trial spell.

Sonko a former Stoke and Reading centre-half, featured for the Town reserves against Colchester earlier this week.