Oxford United manager Karl Robinson was upfront on his delight at landing Rangers Brandon Barker on a loan deal until the end of the season.
The U’s boss was delighted with his deadline day activity, which saw him sign Elliot Lee and Joe Grayson, as well as Barker.
Speaking to the Oxford Mail, he stated:
“What we’ve done in this window is exactly what we hoped to do in the last one.”
“We waited and waited, in the hope we wouldn’t turn our cards over too soon.”
“Everyone’s worked extremely hard to do what we’ve done.”
Brandon Barker is a talented player, but he appears to lack the confidence and self-belief required for the top level as well as the consistency to match.
The 24 year-old recorded 10 appearances and two goals for Rangers in the Scottish Premiership this season, including a hard-working, disciplined shift in the 2-0 Old-Firm victory over Celtic at Parkhead in December.
He has been trusted by Steven Gerrard to feature in other big games, including away to Porto in the Europa League, but has never quite captured the imagination.
Robinson obviously likes what he sees in the attacker and fought off other interest for his services.
Number one
The Mail reported that several clubs were in for the former Manchester City youth and Oxford’s Robinson admitted he was surprised to get the deal done.
He stated, “Brandon’s an incredible talent – I’m really shocked we got this one done.”
“I didn’t think he was ever within our reach.”
“Brandon was No 1 on our list, but the one we thought we weren’t going to get.”
“In the last three or four days it escalated into a possibility.”
Brandon Barker will need to make the most of the move and prolonged game time at the Kassam Stadium if he has any hope of getting back into Gerrard’s plans.
The League 1 outfit will provide a great platform for him to enjoy his football and to show what he is capable of.