It’s been quite the start to life at Oxford United for loanee Stanley Mills, with the Everton man putting in a string of good performances.
The 20-year-old has one goal to his name, five assists and has also forced two own goals in matches that the U’s won.
Stanley Mills: Player in Focus
First Ever Loan
Sometimes, it can be difficult for a player when they embark on their first loan spell away from their parent club.
Stanley Mills, son of former England international Danny, has been with Everton since 2018 after joining from Leeds and is yet to make a senior league appearance for the Toffees.
However, he has hit the ground running at Grenoble Road and put in a string of positive displays.
Old School Winger
It’s also refreshing to see how he plays. In modern football, a right-footed winger will often play on the left and cut inside on his strong foot. However, in the case of Mills, he plays on the right and likes to beat a man on the outside before taking the ball to the byline.
He’s also good at crosses. This is another aspect of a winger that isn’t as common in recent seasons but he causes plenty of problems by beating his man and delivering dangerous balls into the box.
Goals and Assists
While he may have only scored one goal so far, it was a beauty. It came in a 3-0 victory away at Fleetwood and, ironically, he cut inside and bent one into the top corner with his left foot. He should have added to his tally in Oxford’s recent goalless draw with Bolton.
His assists have also been key. His first came when he forced an own goal at Barnsley before putting in a brilliant cross for Greg Leigh to score against Port Vale. His goal at Fleetwood followed before assisting Leigh again in the draw against Blackpool. He notched another when his cross was turned in by the Lincoln goalkeeper during Oxford’s win at Sincil Bank.
