Evaluating Oxford's potential January signings (Part 3)

In the final part of the January mini-series we look at three more players who Oxford could potentially target this January, with one player who will get any United fan excited. 

Loans, pre-contracts and signings, over this series we have looked at some of the players who have been viable options for Robinson, who still promises there are signings to come despite the window drawing worryingly close to a close. Could any of these players be the answer this January?

Name: Curtis Tilt

Age: 29 

Position: CB

Current Club: Rotherham United

Availability: Loan

Likelihood: 5/10

Curtis Tilt spent the first half of this season at fellow League One club Wigan, but his short term loan move was not extended given the troubles the Latics are currently experiencing.

However, it is thought that Rotherham will be looking to send Tilt back out on loan to another League One club, and with Oxford still without suitable defensive cover heading into the final third of the January window, a short term move for the 29-year-old may suit Robinson’s side.

Tilt spent 2 and a half years at the heart of Blackpool’s defence and captained the side on many occasions, but moved away to Rotherham in January of last year.

It paid with promotion to the Championship, but in truth the move has not been so successful. Injury kept him out of his first six Rotherham appearances, and he managed a meagre 60 minutes before the season was curtailed.

He has been largely on the peripheral of Rotherham’s squad ever since, and with The Millers heavily linked with a loan move themselves for Stoke centre back Liam Lindsay, it appears that won’t be changing in the remainder of this season.

It makes a drop down to League One level back on the cards, and there are numerous League One clubs linked with a move for him.

Charlton, Ipswich and Portsmouth have all been credited with an interest, along with a potential return to Blackpool, but with nothing yet materialising, Oxford - who have also been mentioned in discussions - could be as good a destination as any.

He is a player with valuable experience at League One level and has proved himself as having a superb attitude and leadership skills, more than capable of slotting into any side.

Left footed, Tilt would provide the short-term cover that Oxford need for Atkinson and - if needed - Moore.

Tilt would also offer another physical presence at the back, with his aerial duels win percentage for Wigan this season sitting at 72.73%, greater than Moore (65.28%) and Atkinson (66.7%).

He does fall down slightly in his passing play. His passing accuracy of 61.17% is nearly 15% lower than both of Oxford’s current first choice centre backs, and he completes nearly half the number of short passes per match than Moore and Atkinson who both have over 30 compared to Tilt’s 16.4.

These, however, are stats taken from only his last two seasons and may be more reflective of the respective form of his Blackpool and Wigan sides.

Tilt is comfortable enough on the ball, and that won’t be too worrying for Robinson anyway given his defensive attributes make him a more than viable loan option to provide cover for Oxford in the compact season.  

 

Name: Chris Maguire

Age: 32 

Position: CAM/RW/LW

Current Club: Sunderland AFC

Availability: Pre-Contract

Likelihood: 6/10

The penalty celebration. The keep-ups in the corner against Swansea. The seven in a row fingers against Swindon.

Even at 32 Oxford fans would surely take him back, although a January switch does not seem likely. This move would instead be for next season, but could be implemented as early as this January depending on Maguire's talks with Sunderland.

Maguire is one of 19 Sunderland players out of contract this summer, and their current squad is reported to be £7 million over the £2.5 million salary cap.

Promotion to the championship would solve some of these issues, with their squad well below the proposed £18 million cap there – which is expected to be rejected anyway – but even if promotion does materialise, Maguire may find himself available in the summer.

Though still an important member of the squad, Maguire’s impact this season has been less prominent.

He is averaging less goals and assists per game this season than his last two campaigns and has only started 11 of their matches this term.

With this somewhat waning impact and his age, a new contract at Sunderland seems unlikely at their current state – sitting in 9^th position and nine points off the top two.

Maguire, then, is likely to be available in the summer and Oxford could look to put that in action from an early stage.

A January move may still not be out of the question though. Maguire has started only one game since Lee Johnson’s arrival, and that came in the 1-0 home defeat where Johnson had less than 24 hours to decide his squad. Since then, Maguire has managed only 109 minutes in Sunderland’s last five matches.

Still, Johnson may want to keep Maguire’s experience and undoubtable talent in a season where they have had a torrid time with injuries and COVID. But in the summer, Maguire will likely be a free agent, and Oxford – in particular Robinson who seems like the ideal manager for someone in Maguire's mould – could swoop.

A player who scored 23 goals and registered 19 assists over his two years at Oxford would no doubt be a welcome return, and Maguire’s influence goes well beyond the stats and figures.

He may want to remain in the North, but if Maguire still has ambitions to play League One football next year, then Oxford could be his best option and a pre-contract agreement within the next few months could confirm that. 

Name: Jordan Jones

Age: 26 

Position: RW/LW

Current Club: Rangers

Availability: Loan

Likelihood: 5/10  

As Ranger’s continue their pursuit for another Oxford target Scott Wright - who was evaluated in an earlier article - the future of their current wide man Jordan Jones looks more and more likely to be away from the Glasgow club.

Many sources have linked Jones with a loan move away from the Scottish Premiership leaders this month, and with time moving on, Oxford could be in the market to make a late chase for the Northern Ireland international.

The winger, who is right footed but likes to play on the left wing, has made only three appearances for Rangers this term, and judging by Gerrard’s desire to bring in another winger this January – Scott Wright would play in a very similar position to Jones too – a move away for some game time would seem the best option for him and the club.

Jones is relatively quick and is more than willing to run directly at a side.

Judging by last season’s statistics for Rangers – where he still played less than ten games – he averaged 2.2 take-ons per match at a rate of 38.46%, higher than all of Oxford’s current starting wingers, with only Rob Hall boasting such a volume of dribbling stats.

It isn’t aimless running either. In Jones’ small number of appearances he averaged 2.6 chances created per 90 minutes last season and his attempted crosses of over 4 per game illustrates an ability to produce a final product.  

How Oxford's most likely creators compared with Jones last year (min 5+ league appearances)

His technical ability means he would be more than capable of playing on the right wing as well as the left, as he did for much of his time at Kilmarnock where he averaged a goal every four games.

In fact, this goal scoring ability is one of Jones’ great strengths, having scored in his first start of this season too against Motherwell – playing on the right wing in that one.

Robinson has recently said that he is still in the market for a winger and a centre back, and Jones could just be the man to fill Oxford's gap.

Jones provides a creative and goal scoring threat which Oxford could use heading into the back end of the season.

Combining Oxford’s ability to find Northern Ireland talent and pick up players from the Scottish leagues – along with Robinson’s strong relationship with Gerrard – Oxford is a very possible destination for Jones this January.