Two of the biggest deals in this summer’s Irish League transfer window involved Scottish strikers who seized Premiership opportunities after stepping out of their comfort zone – and former Queen of the South manager Peter Murphy is in a unique position to talk about both.

Queen of the South’s final League One game of the 2024/25 campaign – a 1-1 draw away to Arbroath – wouldn’t typically be of much interest to football fans in Northern Ireland, but if you look a bit closer, you find the relevance.

It marked Fraser Bryden’s sole start for the Dumfries club across a loan spell from Ayr United which was impacted by injury, and a quick scan to the bench is where you’ll see Adam Brooks listed.

Less than 16 months later, both Bryden and Brooks had sealed six-figure moves after impressing at Crusaders – the former joining Chesterfield for a reported £120,000 and the latter setting a new Irish League record with his deadline day switch to Coleraine.

placeholder image — Adam Brooks (right) and Fraser Bryden both made six-figure summer moves after impressing at Crusaders. (Photo by Stephen Hamilton/Inpho)

Brooks lit up League One during his time with Queen of the South, scoring 10 goals in 23 appearances to help them progress into the play-offs.

Bryden’s time wasn’t as successful, starting just once in the 20 matches he was available for, but that didn’t stop him making an instant impact in Northern Ireland, finishing his debut campaign with 22 goals across 35 league appearances.

The pair – both aged 22 – have walked similar paths to their current point but in Murphy’s mind are very different players.

"Fraser would be more of a typical number nine,” Murphy tells the News Letter. “He can hold the ball up from the channels, he's good in the air, and he works really hard as well.

"Adam is quick, sharp, wants to work hard, and he never stops running. He knows where the goal is, he's an exceptional finisher.

"He's probably not the out and out number nine, a striker that's going to be holding the ball up and everything like that, but he runs in behind, he supports, he's very clever with the way he links up play.

"Fraser was a totally different character (to Adam), but absolutely brilliant in the changing room and for the squad, he used to laugh and joke all the time. Unfortunately, when he came to us, he got a bad injury.

"Then he came back with us after about three months. It took him a long time to get back up to match fitness.

"We didn't get to see the best of him, he only came in and scored a couple of goals.

"It was a question of ‘what's he going to do now?’ after leaving Ayr...he's gone over to Northern Ireland and shown how good he can be.

"I can understand with the two of them up front why they (Crusaders) scored a lot of goals.”

Brooks arrived at Queen of the South after Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who were managed by Duncan Ferguson, slipped into administration.

The former Celtic youngster didn’t have the same immediate impact as Bryden at Crusaders – Brooks scored seven league goals to his fellow countryman’s 22 – but appeared to be ready to fill that void at Seaview this term, starting the season with a hat-trick against Portadown.

It has always been clear to Murphy that Brooks had the potential to take his game to another level and the ex-Republic of Ireland international is excited to see further progression at The Showgrounds.

"The way Duncan wanted to play, I think Adam was getting moved around left, right and centre,” he added. “But you could see the quality that he had.

"He was exceptional for me. I played him just behind the front man – he scored goals, he assisted, he worked really hard.

"He had a thirst for learning...he just wanted to improve. He came in with a smile on his face every day and was a pleasure to work with.

"You're not having to deal with any attitudes or anything like that (with Adam). He was receptive to information of how to improve his game and what we could work on...I can't speak highly enough of the kid.”

Crusaders have unearthed a number of hidden gems after prioritising the Scottish market for their recruitment strategy amid increased financial demands at home.

Kieran Offord joined on loan from St Mirren before making a six-figure move to Linfield just a matter of months later and they’ve also been able to make healthy profit from Brooks and Bryden.

Declan Caddell seems to have worked his magic once again with Owen Wardell enjoying a fine start to life in the Irish League, while Aaron Reid scored a late winner in last weekend’s 2-1 triumph over Glentoran – the Crues’ third consecutive league victory.

As clubs continue getting more creative to stretch financial resources further, Scotland is becoming an important market – and Murphy feels it is beneficial for both parties.

"The league can highlight the fact that players have come over from Scotland, played in Northern Ireland, moved back to England and getting a good move to another club,” he said. “It just shows that the attraction is there.

"I know what it's like trying to attract players...if you've got that as ammunition just to say, ‘come over here, kick-start your career and get in the limelight’.

"Everybody knows that the model in football is to look at the data.

"When you've got the likes of Fraser, who has gone across to Northern Ireland, scored a lot of goals, the same with Adam...to get a goal scorer, it's priceless.

"If you can get them for a reasonable amount of money, you've won the lottery.”