Oxford United boss discusses January transfer window

Next month represents an opportunity for the U’s to strengthen areas of the pitch prior to what is effectively the second half of the Sky Bet Championship season.

United had a busy summer, with 17 players coming through the door, including Kyle Edwards, who joined as a free agent on a short-term deal after the close of the window.

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U’s head coach Des Buckingham says next month’s transfer window was always going to be a continuation of the work done during the summer, with the club’s hierarchy now determining which playing positions will be the focus in January.

On the background work being done for the January window, Buckingham said: “That hasn’t started now, that’s been something we’ve carried through from the summer.

“There was a lot of work that was done in the summer with the recruitment that we brought in, with a view and an eye on January.

“When I arrived here in November, the work for January had almost been done, so for me, the summer was the first window where we could have a bit of a working relationship to bring the team together, to show what we can do.

“This January was always going to be a second window for that, and there’s been a lot of work done.

“We’ve sat many a time, we’ve got good lists of names, and it’s now about looking at the areas and positions, and what is going to be available to us come that point.”

Potential injuries between now and the window will obviously have an impact on targets, but central defence and wide players will likely be the priority areas for United, who are understood to have healthy funds available that weren’t dipped into during the summer.

Buckingham was coy on revealing what positions he would like to strengthen, but said: “I know what I want. It’s the same as everyone come Christmas. It’s what you can get.

“There are a lot of things that move all the time, so I think it would be unfair for me to say X, Y and Z.

“We’ve got a bit of time leading in, and what I’m very confident of is we are very clear on what we want to do, and how we want to do that.

“It’s making sure that come the time, we are very clear as a club what that looks like.”

Next month’s transfer window will open on January 1 and close at 11pm on February 3.