OXFORD United have bolstered their attacking options with the signing of Sam Winnall.

The striker, who was a free agent after leaving Sheffield Wednesday in June, joins on a two-year deal, with the option of an extra 12 months.

Winnall, 29, has played in the Championship for the last four years, but found regular game-time hard to come by after a serious injury in February 2018.

He fell out of favour at Wednesday and has not featured since January, but is looking forward to getting back on the pitch with the U's.

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Winnall said: “I’ve been in contact with the gaffer and he’s made me really excited about the opportunity to come here and be successful.

“I think it’s a club going in the right direction.

“It’s got everything it needs to do that and I’m hoping that I can be a part of that and help the club along the way.”

He added: “I knew quite a lot of the players, having played against or with them previously and I knew this would be a place where we’d be playing the type of football I wanted to be involved in.”

The move was completed before midday today, meaning Winnall, who will wear the number 11 shirt, is available for tomorrow's Sky Bet League One opener at Lincoln City.

Winnall started his career at Wolves, before breaking onto the scene at Scunthorpe United in 2013/14, finishing top scorer as The Iron won promotion from League Two.

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He moved to Barnsley that summer and was similarly prolific, helping them to League One play-off success in 2015/16 – as well as the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final victory over United.

After joining Wednesday in 2017, the forward was loaned to Derby County but sustained a serious knee ligament injury in February 2018, forcing him out for eight months.

Winnall has played just 25 games since and admits he will initially be playing catch-up to the rest of United’s squad.

He said: “I’ve obviously been having to do my own fitness work at home and in the gym.

“As hard as I’ve been working it’s tough to replicate what you get on a matchday and do in a pre-season with an actual football club.

“Am I at 100 per cent? Absolutely not, but I’m definitely working towards it and I’m sure it won’t take me long to get there.”