Rafa Benitez has explained his reasoning behind splashing out more than £3m on Ipswich Town striker Daryl Murphy.

The 33-year-old moved back to the North East, following a stint with Sunderland earlier in his career, and could make his debut against Derby, at the i-Pro Stadium today.

Benitez told the Northern Echo: “People will have their own opinions about Daryl, and in football everybody thinks they’re right beforehand,” said Benitez.

“For me, it’s more about being proved right afterwards, so let’s see what has happened at the end of the season.”

The former Liverpool and Real Madrid boss added: “You can see in the short space of time he’s been here training with us that he will be able to give us something.

“How much he can give us depends on him, and it depends on the other players but we know he will be good for competition.

“We signed him because he’s scored goals in the Championship and he will add some physicality and he brings with him experience.

“We were looking for a striker to compete against the other strikers. It had to be a big man who could be a target man and who would be good in the air and in Daryl we have that.

“He understands we have very good strikers. He knows the competition will be difficult, and that is what we are looking for.

“We want competition in all of the positions to make sure by the end of the season we are where we want to be.”