Winger in talks with Championship club amid Sunderland, West Brom and Southampton transfer links

Oxford are in talks to extend Josh Murphy’s contract following reported interest from several Championship clubs.

The 29-year-old scored twice as The U’s beat Bolton 2-0 at Wembley in the League One play-off final, taking his tally to 10 goals in all competitions for the 2023/24 season. Yet Murphy’s contract is set to expire this summer, while several clubs including Sunderland, Southampton, West Brom and Hull have been credited with interest.

Oxford have announced their retained list following their play-off final victory, confirming the club are ‘in discussions to extend the contracts of Josh Murphy, Joe Bennett and Josh McEachran.’

When asked about Murphy’s future following the win over Bolton, Oxford boss Des Buckingham said: “I may have had a chat with him when we were up on the gantry lifting the trophy.

“We’ll do as much as we can to try and keep Josh here. He’s a wonderful person, a very good player, and he suits the way we want to do things. We’ll do as much as we can and see where that takes us.”

Murphy signed a two-year contract at Oxford in 2022 and has admitted he almost left the club after a challenging first season at the Kassam Stadium. He has excelled since Buckingham’s appointment in November last year, though, starting 18 consecutive League One matches - including play-off fixtures.

Asked about his situation after the play-off final, Murphy, who previously cost Cardiff a reported £11million in 2018, replied: “I want to play as high as I can. I think I owe it to myself, to my family, and to the club. We’re in the Championship now, so let’s see what happens.

“I just want to take my mind off everything. It’s been a long season, a tough season, and I just want to enjoy myself.”