Oxford United should wade into Leeds United and Sunderland transfer battle: View | OneFootball

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Des Buckingham is preparing to take charge of his first Oxford United game this weekend after being appointed the club’s new manager.

The U’s appointed Buckingham last week after going through a process to find a suitable replacement for Liam Manning, who left to join Bristol City.

Buckingham takes his Oxford side to face Cheltenham Town on Saturday, and while the 38-year-old will be fully concentrated on that, he will have other issues in the back of his mind.

One will be the upcoming January transfer window, as he takes over a squad that hasn’t been made in his vision and will likely want to make some changes both in terms of incomings and outgoings.

Oxford were very busy in the summer, as Manning made several changes, and they looked to have paid off as the club sit in second place.

But Buckingham will have ideas of his own, and one area he should look to improve is the forward line with Ali Al-Hamadi, a player they should be considering.

Which teams are interested in Ali Al-Hamadi?

It first came to light that AFC Wimbledon forward Al-Hamadi was a player being seriously looked at by Championship clubs at the back end of October.

Sports Illustrated reported that Sunderland were weighing up a move for the forward, with it also stating that the Black Cats had sent scouts to watch the striker play in recent League Two games.

Following Sunderland’s interest, it was then reported that fellow Championship Leeds United are also keen on the Iraq international.

Then journalist Darren Witcoop added that Bristol City, Stoke, Hull, and Cardiff City are also interested in the 21-year-old, with him stating that Wimbledon would want £1 million plus for the player after knocking back bids from Barnsley and Peterborough United in the summer.

It was then revealed by TEAMtalk, that all the teams above faced fresh competition as Blackburn Rovers and Derby County have joined the race for Al-Hamadi.

So, there seem to be plenty of sides interested in the Wimbledon forward, but that shouldn’t put off a side like Oxford United, who are in need of more firepower in their squad.

Oxford are one of the highest goal-scoring teams in League One this season; in fact, they are joint top on that metric with 31 goals, alongside Peterborough United and Barnsley.

So, goals don’t seem to be an issue for Oxford, and Buckingham will hope that doesn’t change under his tenure, but the club’s forward line still needs addressing.

The club’s current top goalscorer this season is left-back Greg Leigh, who has five goals to his name. He is then followed by midfielder and penalty taker Cameron Brannagan on four, with Rodrigues also joining him now on four after a brace against Leyton Orient.

The U’s aren’t relying on an individual to score the goals for them this season, as the goals are being shared around, but if they are to continue at the top end of League One, then they need to find a prolific striker from somewhere.

This is where Al-Hamadi would fit in, as so far this season he has netted seven goals in 19 appearances in all competitions for Wimbledon this season. Furthermore, he is averaging 3.3 shots per game, 1.7 key passes, and 1.4 dribbles, which has seen him get a WhoScored.com match rating of 7.09 so far this season.

The 21-year-old is averaging a goal every 0.43 minutes he has played this season, and having picked up five assists so far, he is producing one every 0.36 minutes of football, as per Fbref.com.

Since joining Wimbledon, he has managed 87 shots on goal, which doesn’t include penalties, and 40 of them have been on target, which has helped when it comes to the striker scoring 16 goals in League Two so far with the Dons.

Out of those 87 shots, 46% are considered to be on target, and so far since joining Wimbledon, he has averaged 2.96 shots per 90 minutes he has played, as per Fbref.com.

These all back up the fact that Al-Hamadi is a very confident player, and with the right service, there is no reason he couldn’t continue his impressive work at a team like Oxford.

Oxford are crying out for a goalscorer, and if they can add that to their team, then they would become serious promotion contenders. Obviously, there are lots of Championship sides interested in the forward, but that shouldn’t stop Oxford from pursuing a move, as he would definitely improve their team, and they can probably offer the reassurance of first-team football more than these other sides can.

For the player, it may be a good move, as he steps up a division and plays for a side that is well known for its attacking football, and more importantly, he continues playing regularly and developing. Adding Al-Hamadi could make Buckingham’s transition as Oxford’s new manager a lot easier.