Oxford United will do all they can to keep Steve Maclean until the end of the season.

The on-loan Plymouth striker has proved a big success since his switch to the Kassam Stadium.

And while he has only scored once, it is his classy hold-up and link-up play that has made him United’s No 1 target in the January transfer window.

Maclean is in the middle of his second month on loan, but manager Chris Wilder says that they will be in talks with Plymouth about extending the stay until the end of the season.

“We will be asking Plymouth, yes,” he confirmed.

“We are two thirds of the way there – the lad wants to stay here, we want to keep him here, so now we have to hope that Plymouth agree and we can sort it all out.”

United, I understand, will not be able to afford to sign Maclean on a permanent deal – his wages are far too high for the U’s.

But a season-long loan spell would, says Wilder, be ideal.

“You have seen what he brings to us,” he explained. “He brings others into the game, has linked up great with Beano (James Constable) of late, and will do the same with others.

“He is a very talented footballer and we would love to keep him here.”

Wilder expects there to be some comings and goings in January, but not massive changes.

“We did quite a bit of work a while back, in getting a few out and bringing a few in,” he added.

“There could be one or two more, but we’ll just see what happens and make decisions that we feel will improve the football club.”

Jack Midson made a surprise early return to the bench against Macclesfield, and Wilder says that it was an easy decision to recall the striker.

“His loan with Southend ended after Tuesday, and with their game being off, why not make the most of him?” he said.

“He got a great ovation, which is right, because Jack is a great lad and has done great for us.”