QPR race Portsmouth and Sunderland for 'shining' ex Premier League star

QPR will have to battle competition from Portsmouth and Sunderland if they want to bring Oxford United star Josh Murphy to Loftus Road this summer.

The Sun has linked the R's with a move for the winger, who impressed in the League One play-off final last weekend as the U's defeated Bolton Wanderers at Wembley Stadium. The former Premier League ace scored both goals in that 2-0 win to cap off a strong campaign in the third tier.

Murphy, who is the brother of Newcastle United star Jacob, could leave the club for free this summer as his contract comes to a close. It is reported that Oxford United are keen to keep the player but transfer interest is rife.

The 29-year-old had already been linked with several Championship clubs, including QPR, Hull City, Sunderland and West Brom, as well as Minnesota United in the USA. Now, talkSPORT believes that newly-promoted League One clubs Derby County and Portsmouth are also ready to court the player.

Murphy made 38 appearances for Oxford United this season, weighing in with 10 goals and six assists. The player came through the Norwich City academy and broke into the Canaries first-team with the club in the Premier League.

The midfielder went on to make 38 top-flight appearances, the majority coming later with Cardiff City, before dropping down the leagues with Preston North End and Oxford United.

Speaking after the play-off final, Murphy said: "I want to play in these big moments and my brother keeps telling me 'it's your time to shine', and I think I did that today.

"We’ve got such good togetherness here and everyone’s just dug in. The performance against Peterborough was backs against the wall and we did it. Today, we played out of our skins – I’m buzzing. This group is very special. We were the underdogs coming into today and we just played amazingly, and now we’re in the Championship."