Boateng's arrival boosts United ahead of Deadline Day
New signing, Daniel Boateng, was delighted to join the U’s this week arriving on a Youth Loan at the club until January 1st. The 19-year old defender has a great pedigree having come through the ranks at Arsenal and he made his Oxford debut in the closing stages of Tuesday night’s Capital One Cup game at Leeds United.
Daniel told us:
“I have enjoyed my time at Arsenal and now my goal is to come to Oxford, impress and to try and force my way into the team. There are some good players here and the team is top of the league so I am joining at a good time and really looking forward to the challenge.”
Boateng’s arrival is likely to be the only movement this week ahead of transfer deadline day, as Chairman Ian Lenagan explained:
“That will probably be it both in terms of players arriving and going out. Of course, you never know what deadline day will bring but we are confident we have the squad to bring us success over the coming season provided our injured players return as planned.We have stressed that we are not interested in short-term loans, and Chris Wilder has worked closely with us on this, so Daniel is here until at least January which will benefit both the player and ourselves."
Daniel covers central defence and at right-back at a time when defenders Michael Duberry, Harry Worley, Andy Whing and Liam Davis are all sidelined along with midfielder Peter Leven. With impact injuries this week to Lee Cox, Deane Smalley, Jake Forster-Caskey and Tom Craddock, United have given young players such as Sam Long, David Lynn and Tyrone Marsh - who made his debut at Leeds this week - a chance to gain valuable experience on the bench in recent weeks.
This emphasis on giving young players their chance is something that United will continue to develop and is a strong belief of Chairman, Ian Lenagan:
"It is something we want to see happening and I was pleased to see their names on the team sheet. We all want to see good young players coming through the Oxford Youth System - the fans like to see it as well - and building and expanding our youth system is something we are committed to over the next few years."