Oxford United — 2025/26 Recruitment Plan
Introduction
Oxford are shaping up for their second season in the Championship following the U’s avoiding relegation in 24/25, time to again discuss what could happen in this summer’s window!
Throughout this, there will be changed to how I made the original document, going forward I’d still make more changes with articles like this, but I want to add and change different areas to reflect how I personally could recruit or analyse in a club format.
First things first, let us get into the current state of OUFC’s side and what may happen with the players already in the team, before moving onto additions.
Team Overview
Oxford have currently got a fairly decent base of players, with some set to return and some set to leave through contracts and loans expiring. Firstly, let’s have a look at the situation with players currently following the recent announcement of the retained list.
Oxford currently have 29 players that would count towards the squad cap of 25, which means serious business needs to happen this summer, with a fair amount of players leaving to find alternate opportunities. To start with, I feel as if one of our right-backs needs to head out, with another potentially replacing them. Peter Kioso is the likeliest to leave in my opinion, with both Ter Avest and Sam Long showing their ability towards the back-end of 24/25 which forced Kioso to play a small part. Next would be to move Stephan Negru out on loan, preferably to a club in League One, though I can see him making the move away from the club permanently in the summer. Both of Jordan Thorniley, who was good when he played for Oxford in the Championship, and Stuart Findlay should move on this summer, with the latter likely remaining in Scotland with Dundee or Kilmarnock. James Golding should also look to move on loan, preferably to League Two if possible.
Both Louis Sibley and Idris El Mizouni showed their class in League One for both Derby and Leyton Orient respectively, and I believe they should both look to move on from the club either permanently or on loan to get more game time, as they are both quality players but neither have lived up to the expectations at Oxford so far. Again, like last summer, I’d like to see Josh Johnson get a good loan move but I do feel it may be time for him to finally head off permanently to fully ignite his career. Marselino Ferdinan could also benefit from a loan, possibly to the Netherlands, to gain more playing time, though this is hugely dependant on what happens in pre-season as personally I like Ferdinan a fair amount.
I personally don’t want to see Tyler Goodrham move on, but he needs to cement where his best position is ASAP, as I think if he doesn’t start to play and contribute more then he needs to get himself a move to fit in a system that suits him more. Wingers Matt Phillips and Owen Dale should also look to move on this summer, though I can potentially see Phillips staying due to his experience. Forwards Will Goodwin, Tom Bradshaw and Gatlin O’Donkor could also look to move on, with Goodwin likely going permanently and U’s academy graduate extending his deal and moving on loan.
There is huge importance this summer that the quality is brought in to improve areas, as those promoted so far (Wrexham and Birmingham) are likely to not be relegation candidates in the media, and would look much further up the table, meaning there aren’t loads of other outright relegation candidates at this moment in time. The ten players mentioned (bar Tyler Goodrham) moving on would mean the squad cap would come down to nineteen and I still believe we need more than six signings, with multiple U21 signings sprinkled throughout to increase the youth and potential of our side.
Aims for 25/26
Oxford must aim to consolidate themselves in the Championship in 2025/26, with our transfer business being extremely important in order to try and avoid a relegation battle and look towards our long-term goal of becoming a top thirty side in England.
Now that that is all out of the way, lets look at incomings!
Rightback
Oxford may look to recruit a right-back this summer and Indonesian defender Eliano Reijnders from PEC Zwolle could be a great option. At 24, Reijnders presents a similar opportunity to Ole Romeny, in which we could get the most out of him from the publicity and media side, as well as getting a promising player at a good age abroad. I do think he could improve in his crossing and contributions to goals and assists, but that would come with increased playing time and exposure to a different system.
Reijnders would be with both Ter Avest and Long for the fullback spot, and I do think we may look to bring in another in this position for competition and the ability to switch how we play (as long as Kioso does leave the football club this summer). Compared to other players such as Imray, Johnston and Dijksteel, he hasn’t necessarily played as much, but I believe he could be a very strong addition to the side and could potentially become our starting rightback fairly quickly.
Centreback (Left)
Oxford will be in need of cover for the left-side of defence in the summer, and my personal favourite target comes from the Eerste Divisie in Holland, in the name of Telstar’s Danny Bakker. Bakker was on my unreleased winter targets and would be a fantastic addition as, like Michal Helik, he has contributed plentily to Telstar in 24/25 with nine goal contributions from centreback. Bakker is excellent in the tackling and possesses a great work rate on and off the ball, which links into his ability to control the game and to be creative at times, further reinforcing his contributions in goals and assists.
Some other potential targets in this position consist of Elkan Baggott, who has Indonesian ties and impressed for Blackpool last season under the stewardship of Steve Bruce, Rio Hillen, a fellow Dutch option, Ethan Pye, Sean Roughan and Nelson Abbey. Each of these would provide something different and could all potentially play in whatever system Rowett decides to go for next season.
Centreback (Right — Elliott Moore potential replacement)
Whilst nothing is necessarily concrete, captain Elliott Moore has often been linked with a move away from Oxford, and in this case I have decided to also name a potential replacement for the former Leicester city man. My top target in this position is FC Volendam (and former Barcelona and Chelsea) defender, Xavier Mbuyamba. He is a fantastic ball-playing CB, and is so composed on the ball, he would personally be perfect on the right of a back three as his 1v1 ability in wide areas is excellent.
Further targets such as O’Connor, Rose and Low would all be available on a free and have impressed at either their current clubs, or at recently previous sides, such as Coventry in Rose’s case. Tyler Bindon would be a wildcard option due to his affiliation with Reading, and to be honest based on what Forest do with young talent, he’s likely to be playing in Greece come September. It’s an interesting position, as there are a lot of centrebacks compared to other positions, and it does now seem like players are able to use both feet more often, allowing clubs to not rule out signings just based on their preferred foot.
Defensive midfield
Oxford are likely to be losing a few midfield players this summer window, and I believe recruiting in both a more defensive minded as well as a number eight type player is important, and someone who could fulfil both these roles would be Lincoln City’s Ethan Erhahon, who is likely to finally leave the Imps this summer. Erhahon has continuously showed his ability, with his passing and tackling being so so strong. He knows when and where to be at almost all times and his ability to intercept and control games is fantastic.
I do think it is important to secure the ‘destroyer’ we have lacked since Gorrin, and whilst Vaulks and Brannagan are exceptional players, I think we still require that type of player who can sit in front of a defence, dictate the play and have a huge impact both defensively and going forward. Ryan Ledson is a clear choice in this area, though I do recognise he is likely to stay up north. Ashley is also a fantastic player who I believe could make the step up, as is Kamil Conteh who surely won’t be playing for Bristol Rovers next season.
Centre midfield (two players)
With Oxford likely to lose a few in midfield, as well as both McEachran and Matos leaving the club, it is important that at least one or two are recruited in this area. Firstly, I think everyone wants to see Alex Matos return in some capacity, as he has shown his ability to play pretty much all throughout midfield, both defensively and going forward. Someone I would like to see us add as well as Matos is FC Volendam Alex Plat, who has impressed in a side that has achieved promotion to the Eredivisie this season. Plat is fantastic at winning the ball and creating opportunities, with ten G/A in the Eerste Divisie in 24/25, something I can see him translating to the Championship with Oxford.
To be able to have a midfield with players such as Brannagan, Plat, Vaulks and Matos would be fantastic and would give us so much room to change and alter styles to fit oppositions. Midfielders we sign need to be able to score goals, provide assists and run up and down the pitch consistently to ensure we can work well on the counter as well as break up the oppositions play. Other names such as Valentino Muller and George Abbott specifically would be excellent at this also, and again would each provide experience and potential respectively. Both this and defensive midfield are arguably the most important areas to be strong in in the Championship, so recruitment is so important going forward.
Attacking midfield
This position is one of the trickiest to recruit in, as you need to get someone wholly suited to what you are trying to do. Arguably we have what we need at the club now in Rodrigues, Romeny and Goodrham, but I think we need another player who is able to contribute more than they have and who can support the striker better by acting as a second striker at times. Jamie Donley from Spurs would be a fantastic addition and is a player we have watched before (we do like to sign long-term targets), though this could be affected by how Scarlett’s loan went.
Donley has consistently showed his class in League One for Leyton Orient, and in my opinion has emphasised that he can play at Championship level, or potentially even higher. Donley possesses a fantastic passing ability, with his chance creation and eye for a pass being key to how he applies himself as a forward. He can play in the pockets and be clinical when he needs to be. When linking up with someone like Harris, Donley they can work between each other to cover both positions and interchange. In this and the forward area as a whole, there is a lot of talent in the Netherlands and Japan, with players such as Naujoks, Ihatteren and Araki impressing in recent seasons, and youngster Dan Barton being a surprise release at Cambridge.
Right winger (two)
Moving onto an area that could make or break our season, Oxford need to recruit in this area to an extremely high level. I would not be surprised to see us break our transfer record potentially more than once this summer on players, and it is extremely (and arguably) necessary that we do so. One player that would almost certainly do this is Oliver Antman, the Finnish forward from Go Ahead Eagles. Antman is an assist king, and is also strong at finishing off chances. He has got twenty-one goal contributions this season and is so good on and off the ball, his ability to also play in behind is extremely strong. Further to Antman is FC Volendam’s (yes another FC Volendam player, I like them a lot if you can’t tell), Bilal Ould-Chikh who, like Antman has emphasised his ability to work hard and clinical in front of goal, with twenty-four G/A in 24/25.
Right wing, a long with left wing, are both crucially important positions in our system and often have the most creative play and activity in our attacks. This means that we need to be smart in this area and cannot afford to recruit players with no or little contribution come the end of the season. Targets such as Blummel and Andersson are also extremely interesting and would provide similar to what we currently have and those such as Bowler and Wallace would provide what is arguably much needed experience in England and past success.
Left winger (two)
Like right wing, I have gone with my two top targets being both from the Netherlands, and it emphasises how the Dutch leagues are continuously producing quality talents and supports why we are continuously looking abroad for our additions. Sparta Rotterdam winger Joel Ideho has not appeared too much for his current club, though impressed in the first half of the season for former side Ado Den Haag and in 23/24 with his output in front of goal. The twenty-one-year-old former Arsenal winger would be a fantastic choice out wide and would ensure that we have a quick, pacy winger who can take on defenders and contribute to his team mates through goals and assists. Like Ideho, Vitesse winger Gyan De Regt would also be a young, potential option who is able to create chances and take on opponents to grab goals and assists.
It’s hard not to mention Josh Murphy, who has gone on to arguably be the Championship player of the season in 24/25, and I think we are still waiting for a player to replace the quality he showed before he left. When it comes to the wide and forward areas, I think there is an importance in recruiting young, hungry players and those above such as N’Mai, Ideho, De Regt, Godo and Blake would all be excellent signings for the club and would further support our need to recruit U21 players to hit squad registration rules. Alongside those such as Dembele, Goodrham and Mills, these players would be great to provide something different to what we have.
Striker (two)
Oxford are in desperate need of a player who can score goals consistently, and in an ideal world we need someone who is a definitive striker, who can score ten to fifteen goals a season and who is a real physical and aerial presence up front. Unfortunately this is like finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow at times, and often is a club’s biggest problem in the transfer market as almost everyone wants this exact same player every single window. Personally I’d take Harris’ number nine off of him, not because of any horrible reason, but I think it relieves pressure and could provide a small amount of drive to increase his output. For these reasons, I have named Oskar Zawada and Callum Marshall as my top targets in the striker area. Zawada is a tall, aggressive and aerially present striker who knows where the goal is, and Marshall is Huddersfield’s Player of the Year who is fantastic in his ball-carrying, link-up play and movement in forward areas.
Both would be exciting additions to the side and each provide something different to what we have. We definitely need the type of player Zawada would embody and Callum Marshall would be an excellent versatile addition who can take on players and contribute plenty going forward. I do strongly think we need two strikers this summer, as Harris and Bradshaw have both struggled for goals recently, and those additions need to each provide something different. We need to see someone who is in the right place at the right time consistently, and knows how to score at least ten per season, further to this, they need to be strong aerially as I feel there will be an increased importance in our forwards’ aerial prowess in 25/26 through increased wide play, set-piece activity and (hopefully) improved + more accurate crosses.
Other names such as Vydra, Riis and Anderson are experienced goal scorers at good levels and I feel there needs to be a blend of experience, as well as consistent goalscoring at lower levels at a minimum. As much as I’d love a Premier League U21 inexperienced at senior men’s football loan for the excitement, is that what we need? Not sure.
Conclusion
I hope this document was a bit clearer and better laid out then before! I still want to branch further into including more data and analytical pieces, but not quite there just yet. There so many things that could happen this summer, and so many difficulties to take into account, such as market values, realism and this can cause it to be tricky to predict and draw up targets at times.
We won’t get all of these players of course, and we also may not sign as many as I have listed (also take into account the photo above does not necessarily have who I’d want starting in each position or the overall pecking order etc), but there does need to be a fair amount of change in 25/26 to ensure we have increased ability and strength in all areas. The importance of signing U21 players this summer is very important, and I really wish loans U21 did not count towards the squad cap, but ah well. Our forward line is the most exciting area of change, as in my opinion it needs to look seriously different if we are able to challenge further next season.
I really want to look to move into scouting or analysis in the future, but recently I’ve had the pleasure of working in different areas of football, for which I am hugely grateful for. Be open to any and all opportunities and never be opposed to something in the field you love is what I’d say from a personal point! Sometimes something you disregard or don’t see as something you’d be interested in could be the area you spend the rest of your life working in.
Moving on from that, I am really happy and excited with the names mentioned and I’m trying to adventure and lengthen my knowledge of players from abroad, so I hope this has increased your knowledge and upped the number of players you haven’t heard of before but can agree with how their ability and potential could improve our side.
Thank you for reading, and Come On You Yellows!
Will @ OUFCReport.
