Oxford United are still keen on securing a loan deal for Derby County midfielder George Thorne, as revealed by the Derby Telegraph.
The transfer window for clubs in the top two divisions closed yesterday, but Derby can still loan players out, with clubs in League One and League Two still able to make signings until September 2nd.
26-year-old Thorne is in the final year of his contract with the Rams and hasn’t made an appearance since March 2018. He joined Luton Town on loan for the second half of last season, but made just three outings as they won League One.
Oxford, who started their season with an impressive 1-1 draw with Sunderland, are thought to be keen to add to their midfield offering in the coming weeks, with former West Brom man Thorne an achievable target.
He represented England up to Under 19 level whilst on the books of the Baggies, enjoying loan spells with Portsmouth, Peterborough and Watford before his move to Derby.
His time with the Rams had been disrupted by injury and he has just 73 outings to his name in five years.
Our View
Thorne was, once upon a time, a good player. he had bags of potential and was believed to be a future first team player for West Brom.
That didn’t happen and despite a move to Derby, he’s never filled that England youth promise he had. He did play 34 Championship games in 2015/16, but other than that he’s struggled for minutes with both his parent clubs.
If he’s fit and gets some senior football, he might be a very shrewd acquisition for the U’s.
