Centre-back James Golding is set to leave Championship-strugglers Oxford United and re-sign for National League side Southend United on loan until the end of the 2025/26 season.
The 21-year-old spent the first half of the campaign in League Two with Crewe Alexandra, but suffered an injury in November which brought an end to his time with the football club.
Southend are currently chasing a play-off place in the National League for the second consecutive season, but injuries and a drop in-form has saw their hopes take a blow with them slipping out of the top seven.
Oxford man set for National League return
Golding spent last season on loan with both Southend and Maidenhead United in the National League, impressing with both.
With the defender not recovering from injury in time for another EFL move, the door was opened for a possible return to the fifth-tier.
According to journalist Pete O’Rourke, the 21-year-old has agreed a deal to return to Kevin Maher’s side for the remainder of the season.
Southend have been linked with a defensive signing since learning that fellow centre-back Nathan Ralph is out for the foreseeable future and requires surgery, following an injury that he sustained against Scunthorpe United recently.
The deal in place is a loan move for the rest of the season, with Golding having signed an undisclosed-length contract with his Championship side in the summer.
Can Golding be the man to secure Southend’s play-off finish?
After impressing with Maidenhead during the first half of last season, Golding was signed by Southend in December 2024.
During this time, the 21-year-old made 14 appearances and scored three goals as the Shrimpers reached the play-offs.
Whilst with the Shrimpers, Golding helped to keep four clean sheets including two in his opening two games – which played a key role in helping the club to maintain their unbeaten league run.
This season has saw Southend United climb to play-off contention once again, but factors including injuries and postponed matches has caused them to drop out of the top seven. However, they have three games in-hand on the side directly above them and only sit two points behind.
Despite beating relegation-threatened Morecambe convincingly at the weekend, they had lost two league games on the bounce and had just one league win in 2026 before Saturday.
Elsewhere, Golding has made 15 appearances this season across all competitions but hasn’t featured since November and has only averaged 48 minutes per game. This could be a cause for concern with Southend playing five games in the next 19 days.