Why Celtic must rekindle their interest in Josh Murphy
Back in February, The Sun reported that Celtic had made a late deadline day attempt to sign Cardiff City winger Josh Murphy in January. The report also added that the Hoops will be revisiting their interest in the 25-year-old in the summer.
Murphy came through the youth ranks at Norwich City. He made his first-team debut back in 2013, aged just 18. He had to wait for his time to become a regular in the side though, which happened after loan spells at Wigan Athletic (Mar-May 2015) and MK Dons (2015/16).
The winger made 107 appearances for the Canaries, scoring 20 goals and setting up 12 more. Murphy made the switch to Cardiff City in 2018, for whom he has made 58 appearances till date. He has produced a return of 9 goals and 5 assists so far.
Celtic need depth in all departments
Celtic, meanwhile, romped home to their 9th consecutive Scottish Premiership title. Chasing an unprecedented tenth league title in a row, the Hoops must strengthen their squad this summer in order to ensure that they are able to continue their domination in Scotland.
The wide areas are something manager Neil Lennon must consider strengthening in the summer. Celtic allowed Jonny Hayes to leave at the end of the season once his contract expired. This has left the club with James Forrest, Mikey Johnston and Maryan Shved as the wingers on their books.
Celtic have already signed Mohamed Elyounoussi back on loan from Southampton, which is certainly a step in the right direction. However, Johnston struggled with injury problems over the course of last season, while Shved hardly made an impression. Indeed, the latter featured just three times throughout the season, scoring just once.
So adding another winger, who can provide them with an added threat from the flanks, would be a good move for the Bhoys. Having said that, rekindling their past interest in Josh Murphy would serve Celtic well going forward.
The 25-year-old has had a fairly decent 2019/20 season with Cardiff. In 28 matches across all competitions, the former England U-20 international has netted 6 goals assisted 3.
Murphy’s ability to play on either flank would provide manager Neil Lennon with added options, and would also add more depth and quality to the wide areas. Furthermore, considering that he has 271 career appearances, the Englishman has quite a lot of experience, which would be valuable for Celtic.
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Verdict
Celtic, in their pursuit of a historic tenth successive Premiership title, need to have adequate depth in all positions in the squad. To that end, signing Josh Murphy would be a good move by the club. Signing him would bolster the Hoops’ attacking department, while also adding more experience to the ranks.
