Motherwell forward Jamie Murphy unmoved by talk of transfer

Jamie Murphy celebrates scoring for Motherwell against Aberdeen

Jamie Murphy says he won't let speculation about a move from Motherwell trouble him - because he has had two years to get used to it.

The 23-year-old forward scored two and set up another in Well's 4-1 win over Aberdeen at Fir Park.

"I just expect it now," Murphy said of speculation linking him with other clubs, including Rangers.

"It's the way it has been for three or four transfer windows now, so I just get one with it."

Motherwell manager Stuart McCall admitted afterwards that he expected watching scouts to be impressed despite Murphy also missing a penalty.

Reports have suggested that League One promotion contenders Sheffield United have already had a December bid rejected by the Scottish Premier League's third-placed club for the former Scotland Under-21s striker.

It has also been suggested that the player who turned down a transfer to Blackpool last January could be a target for Rangers should he become a free agent when his contract ends in the summer.

But Murphy, who has now scored 10 times this season, says he knows nothing about any interest in his services and that he would have expected chief executive Leann Dempster to inform him if there was something imminent.

Henrik Ojamaa has been linked with a move to Lech Poznan during January

"If the club received an offer it wanted to accept, I would only become involved at that stage," he said, refusing to rule out extending his contract with the club he joined as a youth.

"I have not spoken to Leann and I am sure I would if something happened."

McCall, though, had earlier admitted that he expected to lose at least one player to another club during the January transfer window.

Henrik Ojamaa has already been linked with Polish outfit Lech Poznan and the Well manager admitted that he had urged the 21-year-old Estonia forward to remain at Fir Park and continue his development in Scotland's top-flight.

However, Murphy thought the player voted man of the match against the Dons, having set up Michael Higdon for the fourth goal, would have impressed potential suitors.

"He is a real livewire," he said when asked about the fact that Ojamaa had scored only once this season to add to the nine amassed quickly last season after his January switch from Finnish club RoPS.

"He sometimes does not score, but he does so much for the team."

With several other players out of contract and Motherwell struggling to match terms offered by other clubs, the present squad looks destined to break up at the end of the season even if they qualify for European competition again.

"I don't know what is going to happen in the summer," admitted Murphy.

"But there's a real team spirit among the players and we feel like we have a great squad here that can compete with any team."

You can follow Clive Lindsay on Twitter.