Oxford United midfielder Oisin Smyth is set to sign for Scottish Premiership side St. Mirren on a permanent contract this summer, as reported by Football Insider.
The 24-year-old is expected to leave Des Buckingham’s side this summer following the club’s promotion to the Championship and it appears as though his next chapter will take him up to Scotland.
How did Smyth fair last season?
In all competitions during the 2023/24 campaign, Smyth made 16 appearances for Oxford scoring once and providing an additional assist in the process.
Smyth has been a rotational player at the Kassam Stadium since making the move from Dungannon Swifts in January 2022. He has remained at Oxford ever since apart from a one-month loan spell with National League side Solihull Moors.
In terms of Smyth’s in-depth statistics, he managed a pass-completion rate of 84.3% as well as 1.44 chance creation and 5.19 duel wins per 90 minutes.
Preparations for a Championship return begin for Oxford
Oxford United clinched promotion back to the Championship after an excellent victory against Bolton Wanderers at Wembley Stadium, with Josh Murphy proving to be the star of the show.
Smyth was left out of the match-day squad in all three of Oxford’s play-off matches, which suggests that his long-term future lies away from the Championship side.
Buckingham’s side have already confirmed that four players (James Henry, Marcus Browne, Billy Bodin and Steve Seddon) have already left the football club following the expiry of their contracts but it now appears as though Smyth will be the next player to leave the side.
What can Smyth bring to St. Mirren?
At 24, Smyth hasn’t experienced a lot of first-team football in England, featuring just 25 times for Oxford as well as twice for Solihull Moors. However, he managed over 100 appearances for Dungannon.
Similarly, Smyth can operate in numerous positions which will benefit St. Mirren’s squad depth. Although he’s mainly a midfielder, Smyth has played centre-back for Oxford United.
Intriguingly, Smyth doesn’t appear to be the only EFL player who will be joining the football club as former AFC Wimbledon loanee Kofi Balmer is also reportedly closing in on a move to the Scottish Premiership side ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.