Sought after midfielder signs up
leedsunited.com 1/7/13
United win battle to sign Crewe star...
Leeds United can confirm the signing of Luke Murphy from Crewe Alexandra.
Central midfielder Luke finalised the terms of his switch on Monday and has signed a three-year contract.
The club beat off interest from a number of clubs to capture the signature of the highly-rated 23-year-old and United boss Brian McDermott was pleased to welcome him to Thorp Arch.
"Myself, the owners, the staff, the players, and I'm sure and I can speak for the supporters on this one, are absolutely delighted to sign Luke," said the boss.
"He's a player I've known for a long time, I've watched his career progress, and I feel he was the best player in his division last year.
"Luke certainly fits the profile of player that we're looking to attract: He is young, hungry, wants to work hard and very obviously talented.
"I'd like to thank the owners for making this deal happen. We had spoken about Luke earlier in the summer being one for the key signings we're looking to make."
Newly-appointed chairman Salah Nooruddin said: "We're delighted to complete the deal for Luke. There was plenty of interest in him from other clubs, but Brian had never made any secret about his desire to bring Luke here, and we're pleased we were able to get things done and welcome a very good addition to our squad."
Luke is a graduate of Crewe's Academy system and, since making his debut as an 18-year-old, he made 186 appearances for the club, scoring 25 goals.
Managing director David Haigh was also on hand to welcome the player to the club and he said: "It's great to welcome Luke aboard. He is a player that Brian had identified some time ago and we have all worked very hard to make this happen."
Luke completed the formalities of his move on Monday and will train with his new team-mates for the first time on Tuesday.
Luke becomes the club's second signing of the summer - Matt Smith has also joined, from Oldham - and it's anticipated that at least one more new face will be added before the first team squad head for Slovenia on pre-season tour on Monday.
United win battle to sign Crewe star...
Leeds United can confirm the signing of Luke Murphy from Crewe Alexandra.
Central midfielder Luke finalised the terms of his switch on Monday and has signed a three-year contract.
The club beat off interest from a number of clubs to capture the signature of the highly-rated 23-year-old and United boss Brian McDermott was pleased to welcome him to Thorp Arch.
"Myself, the owners, the staff, the players, and I'm sure and I can speak for the supporters on this one, are absolutely delighted to sign Luke," said the boss.
"He's a player I've known for a long time, I've watched his career progress, and I feel he was the best player in his division last year.
"Luke certainly fits the profile of player that we're looking to attract: He is young, hungry, wants to work hard and very obviously talented.
"I'd like to thank the owners for making this deal happen. We had spoken about Luke earlier in the summer being one for the key signings we're looking to make."
Newly-appointed chairman Salah Nooruddin said: "We're delighted to complete the deal for Luke. There was plenty of interest in him from other clubs, but Brian had never made any secret about his desire to bring Luke here, and we're pleased we were able to get things done and welcome a very good addition to our squad."
Luke is a graduate of Crewe's Academy system and, since making his debut as an 18-year-old, he made 186 appearances for the club, scoring 25 goals.
Managing director David Haigh was also on hand to welcome the player to the club and he said: "It's great to welcome Luke aboard. He is a player that Brian had identified some time ago and we have all worked very hard to make this happen."
Luke completed the formalities of his move on Monday and will train with his new team-mates for the first time on Tuesday.
Luke becomes the club's second signing of the summer - Matt Smith has also joined, from Oldham - and it's anticipated that at least one more new face will be added before the first team squad head for Slovenia on pre-season tour on Monday.