Oxford United boss Karl Robinson responds to Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough transfer links | OneFootball

Oxford United boss Karl Robinson has refused to be drawn on the club’s apparent interest in signing James Norwood or Marcus Browne, as per a recent interview he gave to the Oxford Mail.

The Sky Bet League One side have been linked recently with a move for Ipswich’s Norwood, with the speculation having ramped up a notch in recent weeks after it was revealed that the Tractor Boys had placed the striker on the transfer list ahead of January.

Whilst they have also been credited as having an interest in re-signing their former loanee Browne from Middlesbrough, as the midfielder continues to recover from injury at the Riverside Stadium ahead of a potential move away in the new year.

Now Robinson has responded to the speculation in a caged fashion as he stated the following recently:

“We’ve not had any conversation (about Browne), and whether we need that position or not, we have so many different ideas.

“I’m certainly not going to speak of any Cooky’s [Paul Cook] players because everyone knows how close we are.”

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Browne still has two years left to run on his contract in the North East, whilst Norwood by comparison is set to see his deal expire in the summer of next year.

Meanwhile the U’s are back in league action this weekend as they travel to the Stadium of Light to take on Sunderland on Saturday.

The Verdict

Both of these players are attractive targets on paper for Oxford and it would be interesting to see if they view them as players that they think they can acquire in the new year.

Norwood would offer great support and competition to the likes of Matty Taylor up top whilst Browne knows the club well from his previous spell there.

One thing is for sure, the U’s will have to look at strengthening their side as it could prove key if they are to achieve their ambitions of getting promoted to the Championship.

They are sure to be one of the busier League One sides in January, so it will be interesting to see what business they get done.