Ian Darke shares ‘Surprise’ Josh Murphy transfer verdict at Portsmouth
Josh Murphy was the standout player for Portsmouth this season.
The 30-year-old moved to Fratton Park from Oxford United last summer and had a superb campaign in the Championship.
He notched 14 assists in his maiden season with John Mousinho‘s side as they survived with a five-point margin to the relegation zone, tied with West Brom star Tom Fellows for the most in the league.
Portsmouth could lose Murphy this summer
The South Coast outfit are going to need significant additions if they are to avoid another relegation battle and progress towards the Premier League.
Iconic commentator and Blues fan Ian Darke believes that it is absolutely vital that Murphy sticks around in PO4 if the club are to achieve their ambitions.
“Josh Murphy was joint top for assists in the whole of the Championship last season,” he exclusively told Pompey News.
“So, it would a surprise if there were not a few other clubs sniffing around him.
“It is pretty important that Pompey keep hold of him, I don’t think Pompey would have stayed up without him.”
Murphy must stay at Portsmouth
Given the speculation on Mousinho’s future with West Brom and Norwich interested in the boss, the Eisners need to back him in the transfer market to bolster his squad.
They should not allow one of their best players to leave and must do all that they can to keep him around because it would be very hard to replace his output.
| Stats (Championship) | Murphy |
| Matches | 42 |
| Goals | 7 |
| Assists | 14 |
| Minutes played | 3,441 |
The winger has struck up a great partnership with Colby Bishop, and if they can keep the duo, they have every chance of pushing up the table next season rather than falling down in the rankings.
They should build around Murphy and refuse any potential offers that arrive for his services, even if they are tempting, as it is not worth losing him, it could push them closer to relegation to League One.
Letting one of the best players in the division leave would make little sense and would only serve to set Pompey back in terms of their hopes of returning to the top-flight after 14 seasons away.