Liam Kelly came up through the youth system at Reading, progressing through the ranks to the first-team picture in 2016. He went on to make 94 appearances for Reading before leaving on a free to Feyenoord.
It’s safe to say that Kelly’s time in Holland since his July 2019 transfer hasn’t really worked out, hence his signing on loan for League One side Oxford United in the early throes of the January 2020 winter transfer window.
His time in Holland saw the 24-year-old Irishman make one Eredivisie appearance for Feyenoord in a 1-1 draw against FC Utrecht. Apart from that appearance, and a 20-minute run-out against Dinamo Tiblisi in the Europe League Qualifying, the only other games he played were six Beloften Preliminary Round games for Feyenoord’s Under-21s.
Oxford chanced their arm and brought him back from Holland in early January and he has gone on to make four appearances for the Us. Three of these have been short substitute appearances in League One whilst one was a 59-minute appearance in the FA Cup 3-2 extra-time loss against Newcastle United, a game that he scored in.
COVID-19 has robbed him of any further game time this season and there could be the scenario that Kelly’s season is over. A vote by League One clubs on whether the season should continue could have effectively seen him make his last appearance for the club. That vote is due at some time in the very near future.
Reflection – should Oxford United make a play for him?
One thing is for certain, it looks like Liam Kelly’s jaunt to Holland and his adventure with Feyenoord is over. Well, on the surface it does, anyway. Should Oxford United use this to go in for Liam Kelly on a permanent basis?
Yes, they should. Kelly more than held his own in a Reading side in the Championship. He is also a player who has the skill-set to succeed in League One, that’s if Oxford doesn’t make it out of there through the play-offs.
Kelly was once described in glowing terms by former Reading manager Jaap Stam who once likened his game as similar to that of Barcelona great Andres Iniesta. With a reference like that, with skills good enough to convince a top-tier Dutch side to take a chance, there’s no way Oxford shouldn’t be considering a permanent move for him.
Should Oxford United be on the phone for Laim Kelly? Yes, 100% they should.
