- It’s fair to say, Oxford United had a pretty decent transfer window. Des Buckingham and Ed Waldron saw the arrival of 16 new players while keeping hold of some key assets.
The new additions are a decent blend of Championship experience, promising youngsters and vital squad depth.
The window began with the released and retained list. Billy Bodin, James Henry, Marcus Browne and Steve Seddon were the four to leave before the club triggered one-year extensions on Marcus McGuane and Josh Johnson. There were also negotiations with Josh Murphy, Joe Bennett and Josh McEachran.
Oxford made their first signing of the window with the arrival of experienced midfielder, Will Vaulks. The 30-year-old, who was offered a new deal at Sheffield Wednesday, penned a long-term deal.
The club then went from experience to youth when they signed goalkeeper Jacob Knightbridge from West Ham. However, the 20-year-old was loaned out to Braintree Town.
Negotiations were successful with Josh McEachran and Joe Bennett with the duo signing new deals, before bringing in Peter Kioso from Rotherham. The 24-year-old had one year remaining on his deal with the Millers.
However, there was one unsuccessful negotiation as Josh Murphy signed for Championship rivals, Portsmouth. The U’s reportedly offered him a club-record deal to stay at Grenoble Road but he put pen to paper on a longer deal at Fratton Park.
Jamie Cumming was the next to arrive following the Chelsea goalkeeper’s successful loan spell last season. The 24-year-old left Stamford Bridge and joined the U’s on a permanent basis.
Louie Sibley, Jack Currie and Idris El Mizouni all then joined the club. Sibley left his boyhood club Derby in the summer while another 22-year-old in Currie arrived for an undisclosed fee from AFC Wimbledon. El Mizouni was signed from Ipswich in a fee reported to be around £400,000 following successful loan spells at Leyton Orient. Speaking of the O’s, they would sign Currie on loan on deadline day with the left-back having failed to make an appearance in the early part of the season.
Przemyslaw Placheta was the next to arrive after the Poland international left Swansea in the summer. The 26-year-old put in some promising displays before picking up an injury at Blackburn.
Despite the arrival of Cumming, the U’s brought in another goalkeeper in Matt Ingram. The 30-year-old had spent the last few seasons at Hull and has plenty of Championship experience.
Arguably the biggest news of the summer transfer window came on July 24 when both Tyler Goodrham and Cameron Brannagan penned new long-term deals with the club. The duo are the club’s most prized assets so tying them both down to new deals was a real coup for Oxford.
Another with experience, Oxford then saw the arrival of former West Brom winger, Matt Phillips. The 33-year-old spent eight seasons at the Hawthorns, with three coming in the Premier League, and has already showed his worth on the pitch.
Buckingham and Waldron then entered the loan market with the arrival of winger Malcolm Ebiowei from Crystal Palace. The 20-year-old has struggled for game time in the early part of the season but certainly looks a handful.
Another loan followed as highly-rated Tottenham Forward Dane Scarlett joined. The 20-year-old has had previous loan spells at Portsmouth and Ipswich and will be looking to secure more regular minutes at Grenoble Road.
There were then two left-field additions. Marselino Ferdinan, a young Indonesian, joined the club, before experienced full-back Hidde ter Avest put pen to paper. The arrival of Ferdinan boosted the club’s social media presence in Indonesia, with the 19-year-old one of the countries most promising youngsters.
Marcus McGuane was the only high profile player to depart, with the midfielder joining Championship rivals, Bristol City. The 25-year-old played 153 times for the U’s, scoring three goals.
There was room for one more permanent arrival when the club broke their transfer record to sign Siriki Dembele. The 27-year-old winger impressed at Peterborough before a move to AFC Bournemouth, but was part of the Birmingham side that suffered relegation last season. Despite that, he’s a promising addition.
Onto deadline day and Gatlin O’Donkor left to join Bristol Rovers on a season-long loan before Currie moved back to London when he joined Leyton Orient. There was one more arrival, however, as the U’s snapped up promising centre back, Ben Nelson, on loan from Leicester.
