Oxford United are delighted to announce that young midfielder Tyler Goodrham has been offered his first professional contract.
Tyler, 17, has been with the club since the age of 13 and has impressed for both the Under 18 and Under 21 sides over the last two seasons.
“He is a really bright player, he has an energy and he makes things happen around the box “ U18s Coach Chris Hackett said. “It has been a tough year for the scholars, and for Tyler in particular because he got injured in the FA Youth Cup against Wimbledon and was out for a while. But he fought back, he is fully fit and we think he deserves his chance to show what he can do.”
Goalkeeper Kie Plumley will also be with the U’s next season since his scholarship started late and runs until January.
“He has done really well” Chris told us “and been training with the First Team so he also has a great opportunity to show that he should be offered a professional contract”
However, not all scholars can be offered deals and Damian Niemczycki, Trey Grant, Sam Johnson, Jack Gardner and Callum Crook have been informed that they will not be offered professional contracts when their scholarships end.
Academy Manager Dan Harris said:
“This is a really tough part of the job, sitting down with players and letting them know that their time with the club is coming to an end. We talk a lot about the importance of our young players also being outstanding young men and all of them should be very proud of what they have done and how they have faced up to the challenge of a really testing year.
“Damian, Trey and Sam all joined the Academy from outside the Oxford area and have grown up over the last two years, living away from home and I hope really enjoying the experience. Jack and Callum are more local and have been with the club since they were young boys. All five have made significant contributions during their time with us and this year played their part in helping our U18s win the League which is an achievement they can all be proud of.
“We will look after them all, as we always do. We have a very strong Education & Wellbeing element to what we do and will work with them on their next steps whether that be education, scholarships overseas, work placements or trials at other clubs. You only have to look in our First Team and see the way that Matty Taylor used a similar situation as motivation.
“We will keep an eye on all of them and thank them all for being a big part of the Academy and the Football Club over the last few years.”