OXFORD United do not intend to cash in on Tyler Goodrham during the January transfer window, says head coach Gary Rowett.
A host of fellow Sky Bet Championship clubs are said to be tracking Goodrham, including Coventry City, Leeds United, Sunderland and Swansea City.
The 21-year-old ace has been one of United’s standout players in the second tier this season, grabbing three goals and three assists in the league.
READ ALSO: Gary Rowett explains call to send centre half back to Salford City on loan
Rowett is undisturbed by the speculation surrounding reported interest in Goodrham, and says the U’s are not looking to let him to go in the January transfer window.
He said: “You certainly don’t want to sell your best players in the January window. He’s a young player that I’ve been incredibly impressed with.
“I’ve been incredibly impressed with a lot of his attributes. He’s got areas of his game where I’m surprised how good he is.
“He’s got a real resilience about his game. Sometimes you watch him from afar and you think he’s a technical player who plays in pockets, but he’s a tough so and so, and he plays with a real responsibility that kind of belies his age, as well as the quality.
“It doesn’t surprise me that clubs will look at him, but he’s certainly not a player that we would want to lose at any point, but certainly not at this point in the January window.
“To me, it’s just speculation, but I understand the speculation because he’s a very good player.”
At the conclusion of the January window, United must comply with the 25-man squad cap set by the Football League, and as it stands, there must be at least one exit, whether on loan or permanently before the window closes at 11pm on February 3.
That doesn’t take into account that with any incomings, there must then be an outgoing to counteract.
Rowett said: “Of course I’m not the one who takes those calls and does that work, but I’m pretty sure there are plenty of our players that will be looked at by plenty of other clubs.
“With that limited squad size and players wanting to play more football, and in some ways, we’ve got the opposite.
“We’ve got such a good environment and such a good club that people are happy to stay around and try and get into the side, which is a real positive.
“You’re trying to find the balance with keeping numbers and keeping that synergy around the group, and giving everyone at least an opportunity that they might be able to get into the team. We’ll see how that works for the last period of the transfer window.”
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About the author
Liam is the sports reporter for the Oxford Mail, primarily focusing on Oxford United.
He joined in November 2019 as a news reporter, and has previously covered patches including West Oxfordshire, education and local politics.
Liam received a Masters in Journalism from UCLan and can be found on X through the handle @OxMailLiamRice