KARL Robinson hopes Oxford United’s first signing of the summer is not far away.

The U’s are yet to bring in any new faces in the transfer window, while Mark Sykes and Ryan Williams have left the club.

Meanwhile, reports surfaced over the weekend claiming centre back Luke McNally is attracting interest from Sky Bet Championship side Burnley.

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Robinson has kept his counsel on potential incomings, but insists the U’s are working hard to get deals done.

United’s head coach said: “We’re still a little bit away from some of the players that we want to sign.

“We’ve got one or two players nearly done, but we know we can’t have them for a while.

“We’ve got one deal that’s very close, we’ve just got to wait and see how we get that over the line.

“There will be players exiting as you’d well imagine, as people have read about.

“There will be players coming in, in different positions, so we’ve utilised the strengths and weaknesses of last season and we’ll be a better version of ourselves coming into this season.”

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Several first-team players have left United this summer, with Sykes and Williams following Sam Winnall, Jamie Hanson, Joel Cooper and last season’s four loanees out of the door.

Multiple key figures have been tied down, though, and the U’s have agreed terms with Sam Baldock, Elliott Moore, Alex Gorrin and Billy Bodin, as well as triggering the extension in James Henry’s deal.

It means United will have 17 senior players when they begin pre-season, which starts this week with an eight-day training camp near Marbella, Spain.

The squad and staff fly out tomorrow ahead of the first day of testing on Friday.

Robinson would not be drawn on whether they would be joined by any new arrivals while they are away, but he is aware of the need for reinforcements with just over five weeks to go until the new Sky Bet League One season.

“Maybe one, maybe two, we’ll see,” he said.

“We have a dilemma of a long-winded challenge or a quick fix.

“There are a lot of things where we’re weighing up the right option for the football club.

“We’re very happy with the players that are coming away.

“This squad needs at least five or six players added to it and we’ll be working around the clock to make sure we do that.”

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The United boss has been in Spain since late May, spending time with his family to recharge in the gap between seasons.

Robinson said before his break that he would never be far from a laptop and that promise has come true over the last few weeks.

The 41-year-old said: “Whilst I’ve been away I’ve had two or three calls a week with the recruitment team and at least ten Zoom calls with new players and players we’re trying to re-sign.

“We’ve had board meetings, technical committee meetings, I’ve actually met agents while I’ve been away.

“In the last four weeks the level of communication from the football club has been brilliant.”