Southampton and Derby County keeping tabs on midfielder | OneFootball

EFL pair Southampton and Derby County have sent scouts to watch St Patrick's Athletic midfielder Adam Murphy in action, according to TEAMtalk.

Plenty of scouts were at the FAI Cup final last weekend, with St Patrick's Athletic taking on Bohemians and managing to secure a 3-1 victory.

Premier League champions Manchester City are just one club believed to have had scouts there - and they were reportedly keeping an eye on midfielder Murphy along with several other clubs.

They aren't the only top-flight side to have kept tabs on the teenager, with Crystal Palace also believed to have kept a close eye on him during that final.

Roy Hodgson's side haven't been afraid to invest in young players in recent years, bringing in Luke Plange and Malcolm Ebiowei as well as Michael Olise, who has turned out to be a very shrewd signing from Reading.

Getting 29 league appearances under his belt during the 2023 campaign, he is proving to be a real asset at a first-team level already and someone who the Irish side will be desperate to keep hold of to maximise their chances of success.

How much will it cost to sign Adam Murphy?

TEAMtalk believe a compensation fee of around £200,000 will be enough to lure the midfielder away from his current club - and that's a very modest fee considering the potential he has.

This is a fee that plenty of sides will be able to fork out - and even the Rams may be able to pay that much despite the fact they are currently plying their trade in League One.

Fellow Irishman Conor Hourihane plies his trade at Pride Park - and could be a useful figure for Murphy to have if the latter ends up making the switch to the East Midlands.

Bristol City, who failed to secure a deal for him in the summer, may also be able to afford this amount after selling Alex Scott during the summer.

Which destination would be good for Adam Murphy?

The most attractive option of all is probably Man City because they have world-class facilities and he would probably earn a very decent salary at the Etihad.

With this in mind, making the move there will be worthwhile even if he doesn't quite make his first-team breakthrough there.

City could also send him out on loan to an EFL side before potentially selling him permanently, with loan spells away from the Etihad potentially allowing him to prove his worth whilst having the security of a decent deal at Pep Guardiola's side.

But a move to a team lower down the pyramid could benefit Murphy more - because he will want to settle down somewhere and thrive at his next club without needing to go out on loads of loan spells.

Spending time under Russell Martin at St Mary's could be good for him - because midfielders are a crucial part of the Saints' manager's system and the south-coast side are currently competing for promotion.

But a switch to Derby may provide him with first-team football straight away, so it will be interesting to see the option Murphy picks if he has several options on the table when January comes around.