Evergreen Murray set for new Brighton deal

Despite being one of the highest scoring Englishmen in the Premier League over the past couple of seasons, Glenn Murray is currently set to be a free agent next summer.

The Brighton forward’s current deal on the south coast is set to expire at the end of the season, with no new contract yet agreed between the club and the striker.

While the club have made it clear they will be looking to keep the 35-year old beyond his current deal, Murray could well find himself on the radar of a number of clubs if he keeps scoring as regularly as he has been over the past couple of seasons.

The club’s top scorer for the last two years, Murray is on course to finish as Brighton’s leading striker again this season after an impressive start to the season, scoring five goals in his opening eight appearances this year.
The veteran’s prolific form in front of goal has led for calls for the forward to be included in Gareth Southgate’s England squad. While Murray is yet to receive a call-up for international duty, if he keeps scoring goals then it would be tough for Southgate to continue to ignore the former non-league striker.

For Brighton, Murray has been instrumental in the club’s success over the past couple of seasons, firstly earning promotion to the Premier League and then avoiding relegation last year. At 35, Murray may well be playing the best football of his career, and a new deal for the striker appears to be something of a no-brainer. While the Premier League betting odds have Brighton at around 5/1 to be relegated this season, those odds would be significantly shorter if the Seagulls didn’t have Murray in their side and in the sort of form he is currently in.

“Lewes 0 BHA 0 18 July 2015-1173.jpg” (CC BY 2.0) by jamesboyes

No other Brighton player reached double figures for goals last season, and it’s looking as though the responsibility of scoring will again be on Murray’s shoulders this year. Despite spending significant transfer fees on Jurgen Locadia and Alireza Jahanbakhsh over the past year, Murray remains the club’s number-one striker, and without him there is little doubt Brighton would be playing Championship football this season. Chris Hughton will be under no illusions that he needs more goals throughout this team, well aware that if Murray picks up an injury at any point this year Brighton could well be in trouble.

Currently sitting mid-table, Brighton are one of those clubs that many people feel could find themselves caught up in a relegation battle this season. While Hughton’s men have enjoyed a solid start to the year, picking up a famous 3-2 win over Manchester United and a professional 1-0 victory over West Ham, the next couple of months will define whether or not the club will be scrapping it out at the bottom of the table come the final few weeks of the campaign. Murray, meanwhile, will know that his own future will be taken care of come the end of the season, and his only real focus right now needs to be on maintaining his impressive current form.