Hibernian reject Birmingham's £1m Murphy bid as Bolton head Balde chase

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• More Premier League news club by club

The Premiership club have made the 23-year-old Englishman a top target following their FA Cup exit at Huddersfield but won't become involved in an Easter Road auction, with Wigan also monitoring the situation.

The Midlands club are likely to return with an improved offer and Sportsmail understands they are willing to pay up to £1.5m for the former Middlesbrough defender.

Hibernian's David Murphy (left) is keen to return south of the border

Selling Murphy to England would further enhance the bank balance at Hibs and that could help them land top managerial candidate Paul Simpson.

Sportsmail revealed on Saturday that the former Preston boss was the front-runner for the job but there were hints yesterday that there may be a cash hitch in that deal.

Chairman Rod Petrie secured large fees for Garry O'Connor, Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson and Steven Whittaker and could be looking to cash in on Murphy too.

Birmingham chief executive Karren Brady made the official bid yesterday, with Murphy not having hidden his desire to move to the Premiership, given the chance.

Celtic defender Bobo Balde is also on City's radar but Bolton are favourites in that particular race on the grounds they are prepared to pay a fee as well as take on the Guinean's hefty wages.