Oxford United can confirm that highly-rated England youth international, Ben Nelson, has joined the Club on a season-long loan from Leicester City.
The 20-year-old central defender joins United having helped Leicester win promotion back to the Premier League as champions last season, with previous loan spells to his name at Doncaster Rovers and Rochdale.
The U’s are delighted to bring in a player of his quality after beating off significant interest from other Championship clubs to complete this loan signing.
Nelson is viewed as one of the country’s most gifted young defenders, with four caps to his name for the England Under-20 side, and he will now join up with the international squad during this upcoming window.
Speaking as he signed for the Club, he said: “I’m really excited for what’s to come this season and I think it will be a great experience.
“It’s such a great opportunity and when I spoke to the manager, I felt it was the right move for me.
“I felt the energy and excitement around the Club and it’s one that is striving to go places, and this is what drew me to signing.”
Des Buckingham, Head Coach, said: “Ben is such an exciting player to bring to the football club.
“He is young, hungry, ambitious, and full of talent, and I look forward to adding him to our group to see how he can develop.
“Working with young players that have this ability and attitude is a part of the job I extremely enjoy, and I believe we have the right environment for him here at our Club to flourish and progress.
“Ben has all of the qualities of a modern-day defender, and we feel he will fit in perfectly to our system and to our culture.”
Ed Waldron, Head of Football Operations, said: “Ben is one of the most highly rated players in his position in the country.
“We have worked extremely hard on securing his services over a number of months and we are delighted that he has decided to choose our Club.
“To be trusted with his development is a fantastic reflection on what we are doing here, and we hope we can get the best out of him this season.
“We look forward to playing a part in his development, and we are all excited to see how he will perform for Oxford United.”
