Oxford United are well stocked in midfield but will lose a few players in the summer. Liam Kelly will return to Feyenoord from his loan spell, while the futures of Anthony Forde, Mark Sykes and Alex Rodriguez Gorrin are in doubt with the trio out of contract in the summer.
While the latter two have the option for an additional year, it is an area that manager Karl Robinson may look to strengthen.
Then there is the issue of Cameron Brannagan. Despite signing a new long-term deal, the midfielder is attracting plenty of interest and the U’s rejected an offer from Millwall in January.
Robinson has previously mentioned bringing Marcus McGuane back to the club on a permanent basis from Nottingham Forest, but here are five more midfielders that the U’s could sign, with all five out of contract in the summer.
Read also: Five Out of Contract Defenders Oxford Could Look to Sign
Jake Forster-Caskey
Twenty-six-year-old central midfielder Jake Forster-Caskey has previous experience with Oxford United. The former Brighton man spent time on loan with the U’s in 2012 and scored three times in 20 outings.
Since, he returned to Brighton and has surpassed 100 appearances for his current club, Charlton Athletic, where he worked with Karl Robinson. The midfielder has struggled with injury during his time at the Valley but has become a key figure in South London, where he has nine goal contributions from 31 League One games this season.
Teddy Bishop
Unlike Forster-Caskey, who has played at a number of clubs, central midfielder Teddy Bishop has only ever featured for Ipswich Town. The 24-year-old came through the academy at Portman Road and has gone on to make 130 appearances for the Tractor Boys.
The 2014/15 Ipswich Town Young Player of the Year is also having his most prolific season in front of goal, having netted four league goals, but he could be set for a new challenge next season with his contract expiring in June.
Ben Thompson
Millwall’s central midfielder Ben Thompson is our next player. Like Bishop, the 25-year-old has spent his entire career at Millwall, apart from a season-long loan at Portsmouth, where he was recalled by the Lions after six months.
Thompson was part of the Millwall squad that won promotion from League One in 2017 and has featured during the three seasons in the second tier. However, his appearance numbers have declined, with 28 league outings this season.
Wes Burns
Having looked at central midfielders, our focus switches to right-sided midfielders. Our first option is 26-year-old Wes Burns. The Fleetwood Town man came through the ranks at Bristol City and enjoyed several loan spells during his time at Ashton Gate. One loan spell came at Oxford, where Burns scored once from nine appearances.
The midfielder joined Fleetwood in 2017 and is closing in on 200 appearances for the club. He is a consistent performer at League One level and, this season aside, has been part of a Cod Army side that is pushing for promotion.
Harry Anderson
Lincoln City right midfielder Harry Anderson completes our five. The 24-year-old has impressed for the Imps this season with ten goal contributions from 31 appearances.
Anderson joined Lincoln in 2016, initially on loan from Peterborough United, and has been a part of the Imps side that secured promotions from the National League and League Two, along with a Football League Trophy win at Wembley. He has been in and out of the team this season but celebrated his 200th appearance in a 1-0 win over Bristol Rovers.
Elliot Lee
We have already covered players that are out of contract who are on loan with the U’s (read here) but Elliot Lee deserves another mention. Despite injury concerns, Lee has managed four goals and one assist from his 16 league games and the U’s should look to swoop in for the 26-year-old.
*Note: All contracts were due to expire at the time of writing. All contract information was gathered from Transfermarkt
