Sam Humphreys and James Roberts were both beaming yesterday after being offered professional terms at Oxford United, writes David Pritchard The pair were selected after impressing in the U’s youth team over the past two years.

For 18-year-old Humphreys, a winger from Chipping Norton, it was the culmination of more than a decade’s work, but he has quickly set a new target.

He said: “It’s special, ever since I joined the club at seven it’s been my aim to get a professional contract.

“Now I’ve got one, you want to push on and try to get the next one and try to get into the first team.”

Aylesbury-based Roberts, who turns 18 in June, has been the youth team’s top scorer for the past two seasons.

The striker has twice been named on the first-team bench and is eager to follow in the footsteps of other young players, such as Callum O’Dowda and Josh Ruffels.

He said: “It was a quality experience and all the pros were great to me.

“It was good to get a taste of it and hopefully next season it can be much more than just two.”

The club also took the decision to release the remaining second years.

It means Conor Ingram, Duran Martin, James Clarke, Josh Hill, Greg Hackett, Jamie Calvin and Marvin Ekpiteta will be released at the end of their scholarships.