OXFORD United’s focus in the transfer window will move to the forward line, having brought in eight players so far already.
Przemyslaw Placheta became the eighth signing of the summer, but the first who plays in the final third of the pitch.
Boosting the attack is the priority for United, who are light on numbers following the exit of Josh Murphy, plus Billy Bodin, Marcus Browne and James Henry were all out of contract and released by the club.
Placheta and Owen Dale are the only natural wingers, with Tyler Goodrham now very much regarded as a midfielder.
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U’s head coach Des Buckingham said: “I’m happy with what we’ve done, but there is more we need to do. We know where we need to do that, in the front end of the pitch.
“It’s about making sure in the front end, we get what we need, that’s going to complement what we already have because it’s an area that’s going to be hugely important to us.”
He added: “We want to bring in more options across our front line. We’ve got Owen Dale at the moment as our only senior winger, and Shemmy [Placheta] has come in to make that two.
“We feel like we need a couple more, whether that’s through performance or the level and quality of the games.
“We’ve got Mark Harris, who had a wonderful season last year with19 goals, and there’s the opportunity for him to play Championship football.
“Will Goodwin is now back fit and firing, and hopefully people will see that in the off-season. It’s a chance for him to show what he can do, and then maybe try to add a little bit more experience in the front line as well.”
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Poland international Placheta, 26, arrived on Monday as a free agent after a short-term deal with Swansea City expired last month.
Placheta has won seven caps for Poland, the last of which came in November 2021, but he wasn’t named in the squad for either the 2022 World Cup or this summer’s Euros.
Buckingham said of Placheta: “Shemmy is a speed merchant, but he’s got a lot more to his game than the speed.
“We’ve been clear on how we want to play. We’ve obviously lost Josh Murphy, who was a big part of how we set our team up, so to replace him with Shemmy and some of the others that are coming in the building who don’t just have speed, but the skillset and brain to finish off those moves.”
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