Whites win race for Murphy

The highly-rated 23-year-old was expected to join Blackburn Rovers but Leeds boss, Brian McDermott, worked his magic and hijacked the deal and Murphy completed his medical at Thorp Arch this morning.

Murphy is a product of Crewe's famed academy system and has made nearly 200 appearances for the Railwaymen over the last five seasons.

The boss told the official site"Luke certainly fits the profile of player that we’re looking to attract: Young, hungry, and obviously talented."

That should be music to the ears of all Leeds United worldwide.

The midfielder has already tasted success recently helping Crewe clinch the Johnstones Paint Trophy last season and was also selected in the League One Team of the Year. These are the sort of players we should be trying to attract to this football club and with a few more players of the similar ilk, there is no reason why we can’t push hard for promotion this season.

McDermott is a big admirer of the player and admitted: "I’ve watched his career progress, and I feel he was the best player in his division last year. 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."

Leeds have a number of midfielder now on their books and it is expected that a few of them may move on. Danny Pugh who was on loan at Sheffield Wednesday last season is likely to depart along with the likes of Michael Brown and David Norris.

After a bleak end to last week with the announcement that United may have to sell before they could buy, the start to this week should fill every Leeds fan with optimism as we have new owners and have splashed the cash to sign a player with huge potential.