Jamie Murphy reveals Scottish club tried to wreck his dream Rangers move by telling Brighton they were SKINT
Jamie Murphy has revealed how another Scottish club almost scuppered his dream move to Rangers by telling Brighton they were SKINT.
The former Motherwell and Sheffield Utd star was offered the chance to join his boyhood heroes from the Seagulls in 2018. He travelled up to Glasgow to do his two-part medical and seal the deal before flying out to Florida with his new Ibrox teammates. But radio silence from the south coast club meant things started to get nervy before his agent finally got in touch.
And it turned out some gossip from a Premiership rival had spooked Brighton and almost left Murphy in the lurch. He told Open Goal: "It was a bit of a fiasco. I fly up on the Thursday and have the first part of the medical. The second part of the medical is the Friday so I do that and I’ve to go to Murray Park because they were flying out to Florida so it was trying to get it all done for then.
"It was a transfer, no loan so it gets to 2 o'clock and they needed to get some stuff done with Brighton, but they weren't really responding so we just had to sit for a bit. It gets to 5,6,7 o'clock and the Rangers boys have all met up now. They couldn't get a hold of them.
"My agent then got a hold of them and they said the deal's off. Let's just say another SPL team had phoned them and told them that Rangers couldn't afford it, they'd no money.
"I was actually sitting with a McDonald's because we'd been in there all day, wondering what's going on. There was no food! Mark Allen said not to worry, leave it them and they'd sort it.
"It gets to 11 o'clock at night and he's like nah, they’ve said it's off. So I phoned Pal barber, the chief executive at Brighton and told him I was NOT coming back down, there is no chance on this earth. I’d moved the wife, the kids, we were in a house and selling the one down south.
"Paul said, 'Unfortunately Jamie, sometimes this happens,’ and I hung the phone up. My agent is on the phone with them all day and the next day. Brighton said it could be a loan and Rangers have to pay this money. It's all agreed, are you alright with that? I was like aye, just get me in."