Leeds midfielder Luke Murphy has joined Burton Albion on a season-long loan, it was confirmed on Monday.
Leeds’ Championship rivals revealed on their official website and Twitter account on Monday afternoon that Murphy, 27, has re-joined the club where he spent the second half of last season on loan.
The former Crewe midfielder will extend his spell with the Brewers to 18 months after penning a deal that runs until the summer of 2018.
?? Luke Murphy has re-joined #BurtonAlbion on a season-long loan from @LUFC.
Read more ???? https://t.co/cjTE0mfOVP#BAFC pic.twitter.com/hfsOL3rrU9
— Burton Albion FC (@burtonalbionfc) July 3, 2017
Murphy initially joined Burton in January and made 20 appearances, including 18 league starts, before heading back to Elland Road.
That has turned out to be only a brief return as Murphy is now back at the Pirelli and set for a central role under manager Nigel Clough.
“We are delighted to have Luke back and for a full season,” Clough told the official Burton website. “He will also be able to get a full pre-season under his belt with us.
“He took a few weeks to get up to speed after he joined us in January as he hadn’t played first team football since August but once he did he was as good as we had over that second half of the season. The centre of the pitch is so important and we thought he did his job exceptionally well.
“He’s quiet, unassuming and he’s 27 now and he knows his job very well. He’s maturing into his role in midfield, knows what he’s good at, knows his limitations and plays accordingly.
“Now he’s been here for four months there’s no settling in period. He can now play a full season in the Championship and show everybody what he can do.”
Murphy, who has two years remaining on his Leeds contract, moved to Elland Road from Crewe in 2013 and has made 111 appearances for the club.
But he slipped down the pecking order under Garry Monk last season and was frozen out in the first half of the campaign before his January switch to Lincolnshire.
Leeds have wrapped up a series of transfers in the last 10 days, with Felix Wiedwald, Madger Gomes and Mateusz Klich all signing for the club.