Daryl Murphy signed a new, improved two-year contract with Ipswich Town yesterday, ending a summer of transfer speculation, then set out his aim of hitting the 20-goal mark once again.

Having finished last season as the Championship’s 27-goal leading scorer, the 32-year-old was a wanted man. Second-tier side Middlesbrough had a £4.5m offer rejected, while Norwich, Cardiff, Stoke, Leicester and West Brom were all linked with the rejuvenated Republic of Ireland international.

Murphy was already effectively contracted at Portman Road until the summer of 2017 anyway, his previous deal due to run out in a year’s time but the club holding the option of extending that by a further year. However, Town have decided to offer him improved terms in the face of plenty of interest in his signature.

Asked whether he expected to finish his career at Ipswich Town, he told the club website: “I think so, yeah. I’ve got another good few years left in me yet, but hopefully I’ll finish here.

“I had good times at Sunderland and was settled there, but here, I don’t know what it is, it just feels so much more comfortable to me. Obviously it helps that I’ve worked with the gaffer (Mick McCarthy) before and from the minute he came in he’s been brilliant with me. My game has come on leaps and bounds under the influence of him and TC (Terry Connor).”

On the daunting task of repeating his goalscoring feats of last season, he said: “It will be hard, but it’s something that you can look at and try and achieve again. Why not? I don’t just want it to be one season I’m hitting those heights, I want to be getting to the 20-mark again this season. Definitely.

“The strikers we have now – me, Didzy (David McGoldrick), Searsy (Freddie Sears) and Brett (Pitman) – I think anyone in the Championship would be more than happy to have those players in their squad.

“I think we needed to strengthen and we have done. The players that have come in will help us. I don’t know what the gaffer is thinking, whether more are going to come in or not, but the squad we have got now looks good and I think we’ll have a good season.”