Liam Manning should raid Oxford to bolster Bristol City’s midfield in January: View | OneFootball

Highlights

Much to the frustration of Oxford United fans, their highly-rated head coach Liam Manning has left the club after just eight months in charge.

Having given the 38-year-old another chance in League One after his stint at MK Dons went awry, the U's hierarchy have seen Manning jump ship to Bristol City, having pursued the young coach following the sacking of Nigel Pearson over a week ago.

Oxford were powerless considering Manning had a figure in his contract that was triggerable by another club, and despite being second in League One with a talented squad, the money and facilities on offer at Ashton Gate were seemingly too good to turn down.

And unless there is a clause that stops him from doing so, it would be a shock if Manning wasn't to come back to his former club in January to look into trying to purchase a couple of players to bolster his new squad, and there are definitely areas that the Robins need to address.

City banked a lot of money from the sale of Alex Scott in the summer, and whilst previous boss Pearson said that their wage bill was pretty much maxed out at the time, prompting barely any more incoming transfer business, there needs to be some investment into the squad in January.

Midfield is an area that Manning could look to bolster, and whilst Cameron Brannagan gets much of the plaudits from neutrals, there could be a case for Marcus McGuane to be brought in from the U's if a price can be agreed.

Who is Marcus McGuane?

McGuane hasn't had the career of your average League One footballer, having passed through both Arsenal and Barcelona on his way to Oxford.

The midfielder was at the Gunners for the best part of 13 years, rising through the youth ranks and captained their under-18's regularly, and he even made two appearances for their first-team in the 2017-18 season in UEFA Europa League action.

Surprisingly though, Barcelona came in with a swoop in January 2018 and he was off to Catalonia, although he was exclusively in their B team and had a loan spell in the second tier of Dutch football with Telstar in 2019-20.

Returning to English football in 2020 with Nottingham Forest, McGuane didn't play a game for the Tricky Trees as after just a few months on their books, he was loaned out to Oxford in 2020-21 in a deal that became permanent at the end of that campaign.

McGuane is now in his fourth season with the U's, and whilst he has only scored the one goal in that time, the 24-year-old's skill-set is about more than goals - it is more about dictating and controlling the tempo with the occasional bursts forward to create chances for his team-mates.

What is Marcus McGuane's contract situation with Oxford United?

Having signed a three-year contract before the start of the 2021-22 season with Oxford, McGuane is now into the final year of his deal at the League One club.

There is an understanding however, per the Oxford Mail, that the U's have the option to extend that by an extra year on the same terms, and should it get to a point where an agreement can't be reached then it will likely triggered.

A couple of weeks ago, McGuane did say that he wanted to extend his time at Oxford beyond his current contract, but interest from a level above could change that mindset.

How badly do Bristol City need a new midfielder?

Looking at the current Bristol City squad, there could be a real need to strengthen the engine room - particularly in the midfield duo behind the more advanced trio.

Jason Knight and Taylor Gardner-Hickman played there in the 2-0 defeat over Cardiff City last weekend, but Knight is perhaps more useful in the number 10 role and Gardner-Hickman is also needed at right-back to battle with George Tanner.

Matty James, at the age of 32, is advancing in years but in fairness has been able to keep his fitness in check in recent times, but Joe Williams has had plenty of injury problems during his time at Ashton Gate and he cannot be trusted to not be on the sidelines at times.

McGuane brings different skills to other City midfielders too - his lack of goals is apparent but he is good at dictating the tempo of the game with a high passing accuracy, and he also has the ability to burst past an opposition player in the middle of the park with his speed and agility.

Someone with McGuane's composure is very much needed in the midfield, and with Manning getting the best out of him since he was appointed at Oxford back in March, there's every chance he'll want to link up with him once more.