SPECULATION over Rob Dickie’s future at Oxford United has intensified after he was left out of their squad to face Queens Park Rangers.

The 23-year-old centre back has been linked with a host of clubs for months and boss Karl Robinson has felt all summer he would be sold before the window shuts in October.

Rangers, who lost 1-0 in the friendly, have been the side most strongly linked with the highly-rated player in the last few days.

While not featuring in the squad, the former Reading defender was at the Kassam Stadium and had a long chat with Robinson on the sidelines while the rest of the squad warmed up.

Despite requests for clarification, United did not provide an alternative explanation for why Dickie did not feature.

Robinson declined to speak to anyone other than the club’s in-house media after the game, a stance he has had since the pre-season games began.