Michael Appleton expects Danny Hylton to attract interest this summer – because he has already been contacted by clubs keen to sign Oxford United’s top scorer.

The forward made it 16 goals for the campaign with a header in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Cambridge United.

His tally of 14 has been surpassed by only five other players in Sky Bet League Two and when the 26-year-old’s all-round game is also taken into account, it is easy to see how it could catch the eye of other clubs.

Hylton is contracted to the U’s for another year, but while Appleton views him as a key player for next season, he is braced for approaches during the close season.

“I absolutely know we will, because I’ve already had interest,” the head coach said.

“But at the end of the day we are big boys and we deal with it as you would expect us to and we will wait to see what happens.”

He added: “Hylts is a massive part of the club’s future plans.

“It’s important we try and keep our best players if we can.”

While they have spent all of the season in the bottom half of the table, the win over Cambridge added to a strong finish to the campaign which has raised hopes for next term.

And Appleton is confident no-one within the camp will be looking to jump ship.

He said: “I’d be surprised if there’s anybody in the building at the minute who wants to leave the club.

“I presented to the players a couple of weeks back about where I see the club going and what I want to do next year with the culture of the club.

“The players seem excited by it.”

As well as recruiting quality players, the key to transforming United’s fortunes will be in improving those within the squad.

Hylton is one of those, with Appleton believing he should have broken the 20-goal barrier this season.

The U’s boss said: “He will probably think ‘how have I not got at least another half a dozen?’ “But that’s not taking away from what a good season he’s had.

“One thing you know with him is he will work his socks off – he did that again (against Cambridge) and got his reward with a goal.

“He will be looking to add to that next week – and, more importantly, next year he will want to have an even bigger season.”