Murphy signs for Newcastle

Republic of Ireland striker Daryl Murphy has joined Newcastle United from Ipswich Town on a two-year deal.

The 33-year-old, who becomes Rafael Benitez's tenth signing of the summer, says he could not turn down the chance to join the promotion favourites.

"I'm absolutely delighted to get it over the line and really looking forward to it," he told Newcastle's official website.

"When I knew the club was interested, it was a no-brainer for me so I'm happy it's all done.

"I think with the squad of players that the club have now, there's no reason why we shouldn't be there or thereabouts come the end of the season."

Murphy scored 67 goals in 225 appearances for Ipswich in his five-year stay at Portman Road, and was the top scorer in the Championship in 2014-15 with 27 goals.

Benitez says the 23-time capped Ireland international, who represented his country at Euro 2016, has a proven pedigree at Championship level.

"Daryl has experience and has proven that he can score goals in the Championship," he said.

"He gives us another option in attack and we could see from this weekend's game against Brighton that we needed more bodies up front. Daryl has a good attitude and he can be very important for us this season."

The Waterford-born striker started his career at Luton Town and went on to play for his hometown team Waterford United, Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday and Celtic.

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