8:00am Wednesday 1st September 2010
By Jon Murray
Oxford United chairman Kelvin Thomas said on Tuesday night he believed transfer deadline day capture Tom Craddock would be a great signing for the club.
The 23-year-old striker signed a three-year deal with the U’s, despite interest from a higher division club.
He is understood to have cost less than the £80,000 Luton paid Middlesbrough 18 mon-ths ago.
Also joining Oxford on deadline day was midfielder Josh Payne, who arrived on a month’s loan from Doncaster. He played in last night’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy game at Aldershot.
But it was Craddock’s signing that captured the imagination of the Oxford fans, because the player has been such a prolific goalscorer.
He finished the 2008-9 season with 12 goals, despite only joining the Hatters mid-season, and also netted in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final at Wem-bley, and he ended last season as Luton’s top scorer, with 24 goals in all competitions.
Manager Chris Wilder had been trying to get the player for some time, but it is believed that Luton had initially been holding out for £100,000.
Speaking to the Oxford Mail from Florida, where he had been carrying out frantic last-minute negotiations with the Kenilworth Road club, Thomas said: “I think it’s a great signing and it shows that we’re still trying to push the club forward.
“He is a player that Chris has identified and someone that will be a good player for us, I think he fits in both with his style of play and with his character.
“And he’s a great age. There was some interest from a club higher up the league, so we’re delighted to have secured his services.”
Craddock, a product of the Middlesbrough youth system, will be available for United’s League Two game against Morecambe at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday.
Wilder said: “Tom is a player who we have admired for some time. He has pace, an eye for a goal and bags of ability.
“He has been a consistent scorer for the last two seasons and has done it at this level before.”
Payne, a 6ft-tall central midfielder, captained West Ham’s under 18 side and had made two senior appearances for the Hammers.
He was released by the Premier League club in the summer and scored on his debut for Doncaster, against Accrington Stanley in the Carling Cup.
Wilder said: “He likes to get on the ball and we think he will add something in midfield for us.”
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