Rhys Murphy

Rhys Philip Elliot Murphy (born 6 November 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for National League club Southend United.

He has played in the English Football League for Brentford, Preston North End, Dagenham & Redbridge, Oldham Athletic, Crawley Town, AFC Wimbledon, Forest Green Rovers and Gillingham.

Murphy represented his native England at under-16, under-17 and under-19 international levels, but switched allegiance to the Republic of Ireland in 2011 and played for their under-21 team.

Club Career

Youth and Arsenal

Murphy was born in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. He broke into the Arsenal reserve team as a schoolboy, while also scoring 17 goals in 21 matches for the Arsenal Academy. He was previously an academy player for Wimbledon before joining Arsenal Academy. He signed his first professional contract in July 2008. He won the 2008–09 Premier Academy League with the Arsenal under-18 team, scoring the only goal in the play-off final versus Tottenham Hotspur, and the 2008–09 FA Youth Cup.

Brentford (loan)

He joined League One club Brentford on loan for three months on 24 November 2009.

In August 2011, Murphy had a trial with Scottish Premier League champions Rangers and played for their reserve team. In January 2012, he had a trial with Hibernian, another SPL club.

Preston North End (loan)

He signed for League One club Preston North End on loan until the end of the 2011–12 season.

On 22 May 2012, Murphy was released by Arsenal.

Telstar

Murphy joined Eerste Divisie club Telstar on 9 June 2012, signing a one-year contract with an option for a second. He made his debut on 10 August 2012 in a 2–1 home defeat to Helmond Sport. In the 67th minute, he was substituted for Leandro Resida who scored three minutes after.

Dagenham & Redbridge

He signed for League