Cardiff City: Neil Warnock flew 14 hours to convince Vincent Tan on £11m deal - it never worked out | OneFootball

Neil Warnock went to significant lengths to persuade Vincent Tan to sign Josh Murphy for Cardiff City, but it never worked out

Neil Warnock fought tooth and nail to complete the blockbuster eight-figure transfer capture of Josh Murphy following Cardiff City's promotion to the Premier League in 2018, but his faith was never repaid.

The Bluebirds reached the top flight of English football in the summer of 2018 after completing one of the most improbable promotions in recent Championship history, beating off the likes of Fulham and Aston Villa to a second-place spot.

With an inferior budget and, at face value at least, a weaker playing squad than many of their direct rivals in the second tier, significant work was required ahead of Cardiff's second-ever campaign in the Premier League.

Given the regretful disasters of the 2013/14 season still etched firmly in the memory, Vincent Tan - who rubber-stamped historic transfer blunders such as Andreas Cornelius - was all too keen to tighten the financial purse strings the second time around, but he was persuaded by Warnock to stump up the cash for Murphy.

Josh Murphy had Neil Warnock, Vincent Tan approval at Cardiff City

Murphy had won the approval of both Warnock and Tan, who eventually decided to acquire the winger from Norwich City for a reported fee of £11 million. Warnock's mission to convince Tan wasn't easy either, with the veteran boss having flown across the other side of the globe to Malaysia to hold discussions about signing a player he would describe as his "number one target".

After completing the signing of the then-23-year-old, Warnock told the media: "I had to fly 14 hours to get Murphy over the line.

"I had to go out to speak to Vincent Tan because him and Greg [Cunningham] were always my number one targets. We only had one left-footer in the squad.

"I also think Josh is maturing all the time. I have watched him for six years now and he excites me. I love people who get the ball and run at people and we are going to need that, especially when we are under the cosh at some of these grounds.

"If he can mature even more then he will be a great asset to us to add to what we already have and what we are going to add to the squad I think we can give teams a good run for their money."

Neil Warnock's Josh Murphy faith was never repaid at Cardiff City

Signing a player who hadn't exactly ripped the Championship apart for such a significant sum to a club chiefly tight when it comes to unleashing funds in the market represented a sizable gamble at the time, and it's one which simply never paid off in spite of Warnock's best efforts and Tan's own courage to give the deal the green light.

Murphy initially burned brightly during Cardiff's early exchanges in the Premier League, offering a devastating outlet in transition with his electric pace and confident nature at beating defenders in 1v1 situations up and down the left-hand flank.

The winger was on the scoresheet in affairs against both Burnley and Fulham, and it was not an uncommon sight to see opposition full-backs hauled off - see current Bluebirds defender Callum Chambers during Cardiff's 4-2 win over the Cottagers - as they were simply powerless to prevent him from wreaking havoc.

Make no mistake about it, Murphy was an extreme talent at full throttle, but the other side of that is ultimately what he's synonymous with. The former England youth international saw his form take a drastic nosedive during the second half of the 2018/19 top-flight season and he never displayed such burgeoning promise and potential again.

He certainly had his moments in the Championship, of course, and his return of five goals and three assists amid just 16 starts the following campaign played a big part in Cardiff managing to secure a finish in the play-offs.

However, Murphy was a player rightfully poised to pull up trees and ignite the division, such was the talent exhibited on occasion in the Premier League and indeed the price tag, which naturally invited increased pressure and evidently became burdensome. That just never materialised, though.

The 2020/21 season was a disappointing one for both Murphy and Cardiff. They failed to come anywhere near staking a claim at returning to the top flight by finishing eighth and Murphy was a bit-part player under Neil Harris before receiving an increase in minutes by Mick McCarthy, although he still didn't impress enough to be kept around and was loaned out to Championship rivals Preston North End heading into the final year of his contract in 2021.

Myriad factors seemingly contributed to Murphy's demise at Deepdale, as he seldom featured and consequently failed to earn a new deal at Cardiff. A drop down to League One with Oxford United followed, serving as a damning indictment of the mistake which many believe the club made by signing him in the first place.

The ex-Norwich flyer was resurgent last season and scored both goals in May's play-off final victory over Bolton Wanderers to inspire the U's promotion to the Championship before joining Portsmouth in the summer. He's now back in the second tier and will be looking to reignite his former flame, but Cardiff will forever be burned by the events that unfolded and culminated in considerable regret.