Oxford United have made a substantial bid for full-back Chris Cadden as reported by the Oxford Mail.
The twenty-three-year-old is on a season-long loan from MLS side Columbus Crew but is expected to be recalled in January.
Cadden has made seventeen outings for the U’s across all competitions since arriving in the summer. The Scotland international’s impressive form has helped Oxford climb into the League One play-off places, and left head coach Karl Robinson keen to hold onto him.
Speaking to the Mail, Robinson said as far as he was concerned, the situation was quite straight forward. He said: ‘We’ve bid a lot of money for him this week on a permanent (deal).’
‘But we have a valuation we won’t go past, so there’s no bargaining.’
‘If they don’t think it’s right, there’s no deal; it’s that simple.’
‘He’ll go back to Columbus Crew in January, and we’ll move on.’
Cadden joined the MLS club as a free agent after his contract at Motherwell expired. He made over one hundred and twenty appearances for the Well, who were not happy when he immediately signed a loan deal with Oxford.
Had their academy graduate moved straight to Karl Robinson’s side, the fee could have been as high as £300,000, but because MLS sides have not yet been categorised for training fees, it is believed they paid around £30,000 for the attacking defender.
Reports suggested Motherwell would approach FIFA for a resolution and their supporters were not happy with the deal.
There is no mention in the report as to whether the Well would receive a portion of the fee if Oxford manages to extend his time at the Kassam Stadium.
Our View
Most Oxford fans know Cadden is a key man and will be desperate for him to sign.
However, if he does, it will conclude a deal that is perhaps not in the right spirit even though nothing about it appears to contradict any regulations.
All the figures involved will probably remain undisclosed, so a definitive conclusion will be difficult to reach.
Nonetheless, I’m sure Motherwell will be watching the situation with interest.
