Following on from their failure to reach the 2021/22 League One play-offs, Oxford United are already busy making changes to the squad for the next season.
Sam Baldock has joined on a two-year deal to boost striking options, and both Elliott Moore and James Henry have just signed one-year extensions to their contracts, keeping both players contracted to the club until 2023. Looking ahead until 2023, who else at the Kassam Stadium will become out of contract at that stage?
As per Transfermarket, Ryan Williams, Cameron Brannagan, Matty Taylor and John Mousinho will all be out of contract in the summer of 2023, with both Moore and Henry now added to that list.
The players involved come with lots of experience. Taylor and Brannagan in particular have been key performers for Oxford, with Brannagan already getting lots of interest from Championship clubs keen on securing his signature.
Taylor will be 33 by the time his contract expires, so a fresh long-term deal for him may be less likely.
Williams has been a useful performer for Oxford, playing on both wings to good effect. He joined the Yellows last summer, having been a key player for Portsmouth and Rotherham United most recently before that. This is his second spell with Oxford United. Williams was also at the club for the 2013/14 season, on loan from Fulham.
But the popular Australian is likely to get more starts next season because Oxford now have fewer wingers on their books for him to compete with, after loanees Nathan Holland and Gavin Whyte returned to West Ham United and Cardiff City respectively.
Mousinho could well be entering his last year as a player. He was 36 in April and is now normally used as a substitute towards the end of games to add an extra cool head in defence. He is already an important part of Oxford’s coaching team, and will almost certainly continue in that role when his playing days end. He has specific responsibility for defensive coaching duties, and has done much to help develop Oxford’s younger defenders already. Both Rob Dickie, who joined QPR, and Rob Atkinson, who went to Bristol City, benefited from Mousinho’s coaching. He has subsequently gone on to develop Moore and Luke McNally who are the current first choice defensive partnership at The Kassam Stadium.
On the subject of Moore, whilst he is also one of the players out of contract in 2023, his very recent one-year contract extension came at a good time, as Bristol City were looking to sign him when Oxford triggered the extension.
What happens with Henry next summer also remains to be seen. Henry will be 34 next summer and he’s been injured, limiting his appearances last season, but on his day is an influential figure for Oxford United. Everyone will be hoping he remains fit in 2022/23, and that he can play a major part in taking Oxford United one step further this time – securing promotion to the Championship.
