Championship duo Oxford and Millwall bolster strikeforces before Luton fixtures

Both Oxford United and Millwall have both strengthened their strikeforces ahead of facing Luton next week.

The U’s, who Town travel to on Tuesday night, have brought in forward Tom Bradshaw from Millwall for an undisclosed fee, the striker reuniting one more with former Lions boss Gary Rowett who recently took over at the Kassam Stadium. Bradshaw, 32, had spent the last seven years at the Den, scoring 45 times in 211 games, his best season coming two years ago, bagging 17 goals.

Despite scoring just five times since though, Bradshaw is no stranger to locating the target against the Hatters, doing so on four occasions in just six outings, as on his acquisition, U’s boss Rowett told the club’s official website: “He’s a player who has scored 17 goals for me in this league only two years ago, so I know all about his quality as a player and it's there for everyone to see. I believe the team can really benefit from his Championship knowledge. He is a person with an incredible enthusiasm who I am excited to work with again."

Bradshaw himself stated: “This is something that I feel like I need in my career. This is a fresh start, a fresh challenge, and I'm ready to go out and impress everyone here at the club. I have seen first-hand this season how strong and competitive the team here is having played against United twice, and this group is one that I want to be involved in. The cherry on top is getting to work with Gary again, who was my coach for four years, so I know what he wants from me and hopefully we can deliver together."

Meanwhile, Millwall, who come to Kenilworth Road next Saturday, have swooped to make ex-Luton loanee Aaron Connolly the first signing for new manager Alex Neil since he took over at the end of last month. The 24-year-old made 11 appearances for the Black Cats, scoring twice, after heading to the Stadium of Light and will replace Bradshaw in the Lions squad.

The Republic of Ireland international began his career at Brighton & Hove Albion, where he made 56 appearances and scored eight goals, before spending time on loan at Kenilworth Road in the second half of the 2018-19 campaign, where he featured just twice. He has also been at Middlesbrough and Venezia, joining Hull City in January 2023, whom he scored 10 times for in 36 matches.

Now on the move again though, Millwall director of football Steve Gallen told the club’s official website: “Aaron's been a bit unlucky not to play a bit more at Sunderland this season, but that has given us an opportunity to get him in. Still only 24, Aaron has a lot of experience for his age. He is at his best when running at defenders and we hope he gets plenty of opportunities to do that with us."