CELTIC flop Daryl Murphy last night joined the Rafa Benitez revolution at Newcastle.
The veteran Republic of Ireland striker quit Ipswich Town to agree a two-year deal at St James’s Park for an undisclosed fee.
Murphy, 33, cost ex-Hoops boss Neil Lennon £1million when he arrived from Sunderland in July 2010. .
He netted only three goals – two of them penalty-kicks – in 19 appearances and had two loan spells at Portman Road before Mick McCarthy made the deal permanent in 2013.
During his time at Ipswich, Murphy scored 67 goals in 225 outings, with 50 of those coming in the last three seasons.
The frontman said: “I’m absolutely delighted to get it over the line and I’m really looking forward to it.
“When I knew the club was interested, it was a no-brainer for me, so I’m happy it’s all done.
“I think with the squad of players the club have now, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.”
Tyneside boss Benitez added: “Daryl has experience and has proven he can score goals in the Championship.
“He gives us another option in attack and we could see from this weekend’s game against Brighton that we needed more bodies up front.
“Daryl has a good attitude and he can be very important for us this season.”
