Norwich City pulled £11m transfer blinder over Cardiff City | OneFootball

Norwich City sold Josh Murphy to Cardiff City for £11m, and he was an inconsistent performer for the Bluebirds.

Norwich City and Cardiff City have enjoyed the services of several players who have featured for both clubs over the years, including notable figures such as Craig Bellamy and Robert Earnshaw.

More recently, players such as winger duo Anthony Pilkington and Josh Murphy have played for both the Welsh capital outfit and Norwich, as part of their varied footballing careers.

The Canaries and the Bluebirds have had several Championship meetings in recent years, including a 4-2 victory for the Carrow Road club in May 2025, the month that Cardiff were relegated to League One.

One player who plied his trade for the Norfolk side and the South Wales outfit with differing levels of success was the aforementioned Murphy, who has also had stints with clubs such as Preston North End and Oxford United.

Norwich City got the better of Cardiff City with big money Josh Murphy sale

Murphy is somewhat of an EFL journeyman who has enjoyed permanent spells with Norwich, Cardiff, Oxford, and Portsmouth, as well as loan stints at Wigan Athletic, MK Dons and Preston North End over the years.

The winger came through the academy ranks at Carrow Road and went on to make nine Premier League appearances in his debut season at senior level, the 2013/14 campaign.

Both Josh and his twin brother Jacob impressed then Norwich boss Chris Hughton following a 1-1 draw with Fulham in January 2014, as he told talkSPORT: "They’re both exciting players. They’re very offensive and attacking players that create things. Josh has been a little bit more involved than Jacob, and he’s benefitted from the experience he’s had with the first-team this season and coming on as a sub on a few occasions.

"It was his first start today, and I thought he was excellent."

The eventual Oxford star struggled for the Canaries in the 2014/15 Championship season, though, scoring just one goal in 13 second-tier appearances.

Consequently, Murphy joined Wigan on loan in March 2015, but he made just five appearances for the Latics and could not prevent them from suffering relegation to League One.

The best was yet to come for the winger, who subsequently enjoyed a more successful loan stint with MK Dons before becoming a key asset for Norwich.

Murphy was particularly effective in the 2017/18 season, notching 11 goals and three assists in 47 appearances across all competitions for the Canaries, which caught the eye of Cardiff, following their promotion to the Premier League for the very first time.

As reported by BBC Sport, the former England youth international joined the Bluebirds from the Norfolk outfit for a fee in the region of £11m in the summer of 2018 to try and bolster their attacking areas.

Then Cardiff boss, Neil Warnock, expressed his delight at the move, telling Sky Sports: "Josh is a player I've watched for a number of years now, and he's always excited me when he runs with the ball.

"I think he's at the right age now with his best still to come. He can play an instrumental part in helping us to stay in the Premier League, and I know he's looking forward to the challenge."

However, Warnock's wishes did not come true, as the winger managed to produce just three goals and two assists in 29 top-flight appearances as his club were relegated back to the Championship.

Murphy went on to produce a respectable return of five goals and three assists in the 2019/20 season, but by the summer of 2021, he was deemed surplus to requirements by the Bluebirds, joining Preston on loan.

The Norwich academy graduate went on to join Oxford on a free transfer in 2022, while the Canaries got the better of the Welsh club by making an £11m profit out of a player who was ultimately inconsistent, albeit talented.

While Norwich got the better of Cardiff when it came to their deal for Murphy in 2018, neither the Canaries nor the Bluebirds got the same form from Murphy as Portsmouth.

His best-ever goal and assists return came in the 2024/25 Championship season, when he notched seven goals and 14 assists for Pompey, to help the Fratton Park club remain in the second tier of English football.

After he helped Oxford United to the second tier with a Wembley brace against Bolton Wanderers in the play-off final of 2024, few would've quite expected the impact he'd have at Fratton Park, but he's been a real star for the south coast outfit, and has showed exactly why he once went for an eight-figure fee.

Murphy was the joint-best assist maker in the Championship in 2024-25, proving that his performances have been more valuable for Portsmouth than his previous showings were for either Cardiff or Norwich.