Does anyone know if we have offered the lad a new contract

I know it's due this summer chances are he will go on to bigger things but it's worth the offer

Would certainly be worth an offer. If a club is interested in signing him they should be prepared to pay the going rate. A cap for Wales would boost his market value.

His contract runs until the end of next season, and I'd be very surprised if he signed another one in the meantime. His agent would be negligent to let him do so. If your player is in demand, you want them on as short a deal as possible - that way the asking price will be lower and you can negotiate a higher signing-on fee.

Sheehan will probably go next summer, and hopefully we'll get a decent fee for him. If he goes in January, ironically we might get an even better one as clubs tend to be more desperate in the January window. Either way though, he's done incredibly well and I don't begrudge him a move. The only thing worse than having other clubs wanting your players is to have no other club wanting your players!

You have to look at who wishes to sign any player. If Manchester United, want to sign a County player clearly we can't compete. Manchester United are not our rivals. If Gillingham wish to sign one of our players we should be able to compete. Gillingham are, or at least should, be one of our rivals. As are Oxford and every club in the UK which represents a very big town or small city.

And for me our mentality needs to change. I recall some official from Newport, our town not County, saying ".....of course Newport can't compete with Cardiff or Bristol." To which as a newportonian I think, why the f@ck not?

Sheehan’s contract expires in June 2021.

faerun exile wrote:Sheehan’s contract expires in June 2021.

That's what I thought. Otherwise it would mean he signed a three year contract prior to last season. That would be a rarity.

Stan A. Einstein wrote:As are Oxford and every club in the UK which represents a very big town or small city.

Ahem! Oxford a big town or small city? That'll be my birthplace and famous city of gleaming spires (or city of steaming piles, depending on your view).

Seriously though, to me it's more about a club's infrastructure, reputation and financial backing with a bit of geography thrown in. Until the paedo scandals, Crewe was seen as a better place for a talented teenager, above the likes of Liverpool and Spurs. Location has a bid impact, Plymouth, Newport, Carlisle etc will always struggle to attract talented from the home counties or Midlands, just the way it is and may explain why the top 2 flights are a big ambition for remote clubs like ours.

Oxford have a good business model which I think County should aspire to. Proper scouting of talented lads about to drop out of PL academies, develop them in the lower leagues for a season and sell them for a couple of million. Then move onto the next big star.

So who have Oxford United developed and sold onto higher league clubs in recent years?

I would hope Flynny is speaking to Josh about an extension.Two reasons why Josh might sign for longer.Last January,Benno was apparently offered a new deal,so was Labs the year before then,Labs had a bad injury and Covid could have put Scot out of work so,guaranteed income shouldn’t be sniffed at.Also,Bignot signed a new end of season deal,even though other clubs were interested.That enabled us to get a decent fee and Paul showed loyalty to the club,maybe Josh would do the same.

Needless to say,Covid hasn’t gone away so will we or other clubs be dishing out deals in the present climate.If we are then Mickey D,Townsend,Shephard and a few others could have Flynny in their ear about new deals.It could be a gamble to offer contracts now but a bigger one to wait.

This has an Edinburgh/Byrne feel about it.

Beechwood Boy wrote:So who have Oxford United developed and sold onto higher league clubs in recent years?

A few very recent ones off the top of my head -

Kemar Roofe to Leeds
Rob Dickie to QPR
John Lundstram to Sheff Utd
Marvin Johnson to Middlesbro
Alex Mowatt to Barnsley
Shannon Baptiste and Tariq Fosu to Brentford

That's about £12M worth there.

excessbee wrote:

faerun exile wrote:Sheehan’s contract expires in June 2021.

That's what I thought. Otherwise it would mean he signed a three year contract prior to last season. That would be a rarity.

Only Podge is currently contracted beyond June 2021. His contract runs to June 2022.

The obvious advantage Oxford have is the location. An hour down the road and you are in West or North London.

George Street-Bridge wrote:The obvious advantage Oxford have is the location. An hour down the road and you are in West or North London.

Where there's a lot more competition from other clubs.