Oxford United are set to sell forward Nik Prelec to Ekstraklasa side Jagiellonia Białystok just one year after arriving at the club.
The Slovenian arrived at the Kassam Stadium on loan from Italian side Cagliari late in the summer window and played 25 times during the opening half of the campaign, which led the club to trigger a buy option in their deal.
Polish Exit Beckons
However, with their relegation to League One, Oxford are willing to allow some players to leave in order to fund their transfer business over the coming weeks, which have been brought to a halt after being placed under a temporary transfer embargo.
Prelec seems to be on his way out, with reports from Meczyki.pl stating that the striker is on his way out and is set to sign for Jagiellonia Białystok as they seek to replace outgoing striker Afimico Pululu.
The Yellows picked up the 25-year-old following a promising loan spell at Austria Vienna, with the club finishing third in the Bundesliga that season, three points behind eventual champions Sturm Graz.
However, he failed to really deliver on his promise at Oxford as he battled injury issues which plagued the latter half of his stint under Matt Bloomfield. He scored just one goal for the club against Bristol City in September.
Ramsey Faced With Unenviable Task
While parting ways with Nik Prelec was likely the best decision to make given his struggles to contribute at the club, Aaron Ramsey will have a major headache when it comes to trying to replace the outgoing forward.
As part of their response to their transfer embargo, the club stated:
“With a commitment from shareholders to increase investment into Oxford United over the coming months, along with measures to reduce overall costs, the club will be compliant and in a strong position ahead of the January transfer window.
“The club have an extremely competitive squad already in place and the focus this summer will be on retaining those players that give Aaron Ramsey and his staff the strongest group possible to deliver success on the pitch this season.”
That effectively reveals that there will be no incoming business for the remainder of the window, meaning the U’s boss will have to rely on his existing options to pick up the slack.
With Ole Romeny also expected to leave, Will Goodwin leaving to join Gillingham and Tom Bradshaw released as a free agent, it is now down to Mark Harris to lead the line for at least the next few months, supported by youngster Leo Snowden.
