Jamie Murphy has claimed his transfer move to Rangers was nearly scrapped after another Scottish club told Brighton the Ibrox club could not afford the deal.

The winger, 35, joined Rangers in 2018 on an initial loan from Brighton but has insisted a permanent transfer had been agreed.

Murphy - who plays for Ayr United - had travelled to Scotland planning to sign terms on a transfer switch but revealed the move was put in jeopardy with Brighton ready to pull the plug over financial concerns.

The former Scotland internationalist has claimed another Scottish side had suggested Rangers could not stump up the cash for the transfer fee leading to fears the move was off.

"There was a bit of a fiasco with the transfer, I don't think I've ever spoken about it," Murphy said on Open Goal.

"I flew up on the Thursday and had the first part of the medical on Thursday night, the second part was booked for the Friday so I do the medical Friday morning and then I'd to go to Murray Park because they were flying out to Florida.

"It was all trying to get it done so I could go out to Florida with them.

"It was a transfer, there was no loan, a transfer.

"It gets to 2 o'clock and they just need to do some stuff with Brighton but they're not responding. It gets to 7 o'clock the players have all met and they're like, 'We can't get a hold of [Brighton]'.

"My agent gets a hold of them and he's told the deal is off. I was in Murray Park and I had done the medical when Brighton phoned and said, 'It's off'.

"Somebody, let's just say another SPL team, phoned them and told them Rangers couldn't afford it, they had no money.

"I was sitting in Murray Park thinking, 'What is going on here?'."

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Murphy, who had been waiting at the Rangers training ground was then informed he would have to return to Brighton - but was adamant he would not leave Glasgow having moved his family back home.

After another day of waiting, a deal was struck for an initial loan deal with Rangers to pay a fee to make the deal permanent by a certain date as per an agreement with Brighton.

Murphy explained: "Mark Allen has said, 'Leave it with us, we'll sort it'. It gets to 11 o'clock at night and he says, 'They've said it's off'.

"So I phone Paul Barbour who was the chief executive of Brighton and told him, 'I am not coming back down, there is no chance on this earth I am coming back. I have moved my wife, my kids they are already in our house, we are seeing our house down south everything is sorted. There is no chance I am coming back down'.

"He said, 'Unfortunately, Jamie sometimes stuff like this happens'. I just hung up."

He added: "Brighton have said it can be a loan and they have to pay this money by a certain date and Rangers have agreed it."