CONVERSATIONS about Matty Taylor’s long-term future will stay within Oxford United, head coach Karl Robinson has said.

Taylor completed a late deadline day move to Sky Bet League One rivals Port Vale, where he links up with his former Bristol Rovers boss Darrell Clarke on loan until the end of the season.

In the summer though, Taylor becomes one of seven U’s players out of contract.

READ AGAIN: Matty Taylor completes late deadline day move to League One rivals

On what the future holds for the 32-year-old, Robinson said: “Right now, they’re conversations that we will have with him internally away from the media eye or media scrutiny.

“There’s such transparency with this between all of us internally.

“Sometimes when people see the news, you can see why it came across a little bit harsh in how it happened and when it happened, and how late it happened.

“It was a whirlwind, it certainly wasn’t expected or planned but it’s something we all felt was the right decision.”

Released as a teenager, Taylor has scored 64 goals for United since rejoining the club, initially on loan, in 2019.

However, he has struggled for form this season, finding the back of the net just six times in all competitions.

Only three of his goals so far this season though have come in League One, two of which were in the 4-0 thrashing of Vale at the Kassam Stadium in November.

Although the immediate future for Taylor remains unclear, Robinson is confident that the Kidlington-born striker will return to United in some capacity.

“We love him, we had a long conversation,” said Robinson.

“He’s the last of a generation maybe, them players who are a little bit different.

“He’s someone I will have the utmost respect for, we’ll stay in contact almost forever now.

“It certainly worked, the Matty Taylor decision that we made many years ago – the goals that he’s scored.

“He’s someone I will always stay in contact with but we felt at this moment in time, certain players are coming to a certain age and it was a decision we made maybe for the future.

“It was a decision that was made by the whole football club, we were very comfortable with it but these conversations were also with a heavy heart.

“Matty Taylor is an Oxford United legend and he always will be, he will forever be in the heart of a lot of young fans.

“Matty Taylor will return here, he’s from the area and he’s certainly someone that will always be a part of the history and at some stage, he’ll be back here.

“He’s certainly not gone with any negativity from us.”