Yesterday, Marcus Browne extended his loan deal from Middlesbrough until the end of the season. The 22-year-old follows fellow forwards Matty Taylor and Ben Woodburn who have had their loans extended from Bristol City and Liverpool respectively.
What Marcus Browne, Matty Taylor and Ben Woodburn’s Loan Extensions can do for Oxford United’s Promotion Charge
Goals and Assists
Between the three of them, they have scored 22 goals and provided 14 assists. That’s a decent hail when you consider that Woodburn has been out injured since October with a broken bone in his foot, and Browne only arrived in January.
Woodburn had scored once and provided five assists from 13 games before his injury, while Browne has scored four and laid on four since his return to the club in the winter. But it has been Taylor’s goals that have helped the U’s slide up the table. The 30-year-old, who has also provided five assists, has netted 17 times from 34 games.
Pace and Positioning
Not only is Taylor closing in on becoming the U’s first 20-goal-a-season striker since Kemar Roofe in 2015/16, but he is the first out-and-out, natural goalscorer the club have had for a long time, and his positioning highlights that.
James Henry leads the assists with ten this term and while Taylor is always in the right position, the duo have formed a formidable partnership.
The other two also have positioning ability but, unlike Taylor, they both add deadly pace to the attack. Admittedly, Woodburn will be lacking match fitness but the additional time off will only have helped with the recovery of his injury.
As for Browne, he is quick. The 22-year-old, who has played both as a winger and centrally this season, has the ability to twist and turn past defenders before leaving them for dust.
With the playoffs looking like the most likely outcome for the conclusion of League One, the U’s will need to utilise these three key attackers. They could be the difference between gaining promotion and remaining the third tier of English football.
Main Photo
