Jol changes tune over Murphy

According to the Independent, Martin Jol is expected to open talks with 35 year old Danny Murphy over a new contract at Craven Cottage, a trust that looks a whole world away from the turbulent manager/ player relationship the pair enjoyed back at Tottenham.

Murphy made just seven starts in eighteen months under Jol who managed to remember who he was just in time to flog him to Fulham, where he has enjoyed a renaissance under Roy Hodgson and now, surprisingly, Jol.

The pair held clear the air talks upon the Dutchman’s appointment at Fulham and Jol wants to prove his faith by getting his captain to sign a new deal. Murphy’s contract runs out this summer and a new deal has yet to be agreed, but Jol is eager for him to pick up the pen and scribble his scruffy signature on the dotted line.

“He is part of our playing culture”, Jol told Sky Sports, “he is our link-up player and if he is not there you get a different style”. Murphy had told Sky Sports last week how his legs are not yet ready to lie on the sofa with a copy of the Daily Express, indicating he can play on for at least another year.

Jol is thinking on the same wavelength, "(I can see him staying for at least another year) if we can agree on the terms as we have offered him a new deal”, he said.

There is no doubting Murphy’s value to Fulham, having played 42 times for the London club this season, scoring 6 goals and he is often Mr Reliable at the very heart of the Cottager’s midfield.

The Dutchman also went on to say the club are also in contract talks with Andrew Johnson, Brede Hangeland and Clint Dempsey, although not at the same time of course as even the most skilled negotiators would have trouble making sense of such cross-rabble.

“We are talking to several players” said Jol, but it is testament to Murphy he has turned his career around so much to be one of them.

@AdamGray1250