Banbury United have signed centre-back Nico Jones who holds the record for being Oxford United’s youngest ever captain.

Formerly of Fulham academy, Jones joined United in 2018 and quickly made an impression at the Kassam Stadium.

The teenager was part of United’s run to the fourth round of the 2018/19 FA Youth Cup and was given his first-team debut later that season.

He gained rave reviews when he was thrown into United’s side making three Sky Bet League One appearances aged just 17.

It was enough to earn him a two-year contract and former United boss Karl Robinson tipped Jones to play at the highest level after signing his first professional contract in June of that year.

The following season he became United’s youngest-ever captain in an EFL Trophy 4-1 victory over Crawley Town in November 2019.

But the teenager played just five EFL Trophy games for the club in two campaigns after his debut and had two short loan spells in Vanarama National League South, including one with Oxford City.

The former Republic of Ireland U19 international then joined Brentford in 2021, playing a regular part in their B team.

A spell at Burgess Hill Town in the second half of last season followed, and Jones, now aged 22 will now join The Puritans.

Jones said: "It feels like a really good match between myself and Banbury United.

"Both sides have been doing due diligence on each other, I've been speaking to a lot of ex-players that I know and Simon [Hollyhead] has been in touch with the guys at Brentford to find out if I'm the right fit for the team.

"I can't wait to get started at our first team training on Saturday."

Jones is the club’s fifth summer addition following the signings of AJ George, Gift Mussa, Yaw Ofosu and 18-year-old goalkeeper Logan Elliott.

Last month, former Malmoe assistant manager Simon Hollyhead was announced as the new boss at Banbury United.

The Puritans, who were relegated from Vanarama National League North this season, will play in the Southern League Premier Division next season.

The club said in a statement that Hollyhead turned down opportunities in the Football League.

He was the assistant to former Sheffield Wednesday and Coventry City boss Roland Nilsson at Malmo, between 2010 and 2014.

Hollyhead was then assistant manager at SK Brann in Norway, and Odense in Denmark, in addition to a spell as assistant at Stevenage.

The 52-year-old, a member of the League Managers Association, will lead the Puritans in conjunction with his role as Northampton Academy’s head of elite sports.