Jordan Thorniley signs for Oxford United – expert view on transfer

Former loanee Thorniley has been welcomed back with open arms by U’s supporters, but how has he fared since he last played for the club almost 18 months ago?

We caught up with Burnley Express writer Matt Scrafton, formerly of the Blackpool Gazette, to get his thoughts.

READ ALSO: Oxford United complete second signing in as many days with former loanee

How did Thorniley react to being recalled in January 2022 and what were his performances like for the rest of that season?

I’m sure privately he was frustrated given how much he was enjoying himself at Oxford, but he never showed it publicly which is testament to the type of character he is. He’s the ultimate professional, so he just got his head down and focused on performing as well as he possibly could for Blackpool. He came back and slotted straight back into the side, barely putting a foot wrong. It was the first time Blackpool fans had seen Thorniley in action at Championship level and he certainly didn’t look out of place.

How did he fare this campaign and what has he improved upon in the last 18 months?

He was one of the rare bright spark of a pretty miserable campaign. Had Jerry Yates not scored as many goals as he did, Thorniley would have been the leading contender to win the club’s player of the season award. In contrast to the fluctuating performances of many of his teammates, Thorniley was the ultimate Mr Consistent, always a 7/10 no matter the result. Fans had previously expressed concerns about his lack of pace, especially on the turn, but we didn’t see a great deal of evidence of this. Instead, he used his in-game IQ and expert reading of the game to always be in the right place at the right time. The only blot on his record was a straight red card against Hull, dished out to him just eight minutes after coming on as a half-time sub.

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Does he have the qualities to play in both a back four and back three?

I don’t see why not. He’s mainly played in a back four for Blackpool but you would naturally think he would slot into that left-sided role of the back three fairly easily. Blackpool did play with a back three a couple of occasions last season and I don’t recall it being an issue for Thorniley. Opposition sides often target the defender because of his aforementioned lack of pace with diagonal balls over his head, but he always stood up to the challenge well.

Was it a shock Blackpool didn’t offer him a new deal?

Not particularly. Talks will have taken place behind the scenes but given his career at Blackpool has been, to put it lightly, up and down, no-one can blame Thorniley for wanting to move on. It’s fair to say he was messed about on a few occasions and while the fans always appreciated his efforts, you always felt – up until this season – he wasn’t quite as appreciated by his managers as much as he should have been. Saying that, the majority of supporters expected him to sign for a Championship side, with Bristol City being linked, so for him to rock back up at Oxford was certainly a surprise.

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About the author

To sign up to Liam’s latest Oxford United newsletter for free, click here: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/newsletters/

Formerly the politics reporter for the Oxford Mail, Liam now covers all things Oxford United.

Liam attends the U’s home and away, as well as covering other big sports stories across the county.

His Oxford United newsletter is released every Saturday morning at 6am.