Thomas Murg makes the switch from SV Ried to SK Rapid

Shortly before the January transfer window slammed shut, SK Rapid's efforts to continuously improve the squad bore fruit as the club made an exciting announcement. In Thomas Murg, the club has captured one of Austria's top young midfield talents, with the 21-year old midfielder making the switch from SV Ried to Hütteldorf.

The versatile Murg has signed a contract tying him to the club until 2019 and contains no release clauses. After thrashing out a deal with his hitherto employers, the deal was confirmed after Murg successfully completed a medical and underwent routine examinations.

Trainer Zoran Barisic is naturally delighted with his newest recruit: "Thomas Murg was a player both the club and me personally were after and is just what we need. I'd have loved to have signed him sooner, as he was already showing just how talented he was during his time with GAK. With this signing we've added another unpredictable element to our side and he is a player that fits perfectly into our squad."

Sporting Director Andreas Müller sees the signing in similar terms: "Firstly I'd like to thank SV Ried who conducted the negotiations in a hard but fair and professional manner. Thomas Murg fits our philosophy perfectly: he is a young, but nonetheless experienced, Austrian player who has already been proving his quality over a long period, but who also has enormous potential to develop and improve further."

Thomas Murg began his career in his native Styria, where he made his competitive debut for GAK at the tender age of 15. By the time he turned 18, he had already made over 50 first team appearances and had netted on no less than 13 occasions. After winning many international caps at various youth levels, Murg made the switch to the violet half of Vienna, where he continued to excel under the highly rated Peter Stöger, now the successful coach of German Bundesliga outfit 1. FC Cologne. Under Stöger the young Murg continued to pick up appearances in the top flight of Austrian football, whilst he additionally went on to make 4 appearances in the UEFA Champions League. In summer 2014 Murg made a surprise move to SV Ried, for whom he has scored 8 times in 44 appearances.

Murg will join a growing band of Styrians on the Rapid books (along with Sonnleitner, Stangl, Nutz, Alar and Kainz) and can't wait to pull on the famous Green & White jersey: "I've been impressed for a long time now with Rapid’s continued development and their policy of looking to bring in young Austrian players. I’m convinced that I'm a very good fit for this squad, and having played against Rapid I know that the atmosphere the fans create is something special. Perhaps certain members of the crowd might be a bit sceptical due to me having played for their great rivals, but I can promise that from day one I’m going give everything to ensure that I offer a contribution to the success of the club. Although I would never say a negative word about another club, I’m looking forward to the first derby, as I do have a couple of scores to settle with Austria Vienna. But, that is history and now all my focus and energy is on Rapid, a club with which I want to start winning trophies as soon as possible."

(gw)