Oxford United & Portsmouth set for Aston Villa transfer battle | OneFootball

Oxford United and Portsmouth are both keen on Tommi O'Reilly, who is on loan at Crewe Alexandra from Aston Villa.

Oxford United and Portsmouth have both begun planning for the summer transfer window, now that they know which division they will be competing in next season.

Oxford have been relegated to League One, whereas Pompey have successfully secured Championship survival for a second consecutive campaign.

Despite their relegation, Matt Bloomfield's men showed plenty of heart in Saturday's 4-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday, and will hope to enjoy plenty of similar results in the third tier next season.

Meanwhile, Portsmouth defeated Stoke City 3-1 last time out, thanks to Adrian Segecic's hat-trick, and are vying to end the campaign with their fifth win in six attempts by beating Birmingham City in their final outing.

Oxford United and Portsmouth both eye Aston Villa starlet excelling on loan with Crewe Alexandra

Pompey boss John Mousinho wants more investment from owner Michael Eisner this summer, to help steer his side further away from relegation danger.

Meanwhile, Oxford's Bloomfield is hoping to enjoy the sort of transfer window that will help him steer his side back to the Championship at the first time of asking.

Football Insider's Pete O'Rourke has revealed via X that both Portsmouth and the U's are among the clubs eyeing a move for Aston Villa starlet Tommi O'Reilly this summer.

The 22-year-old can effectively operate as both an attacking midfielder and a winger, and has scored seven goals and produced 11 assists in 45 League Two appearances on loan with Crewe Alexandra this term.

Despite O'Reilly's strong form, Crewe are 10 points adrift of the play-off spots, meaning they will have to wait at least another year to clinch promotion back to League One.

The former MK Dons and Shrewsbury Town loan star recently showed his class by scoring in Alexandra's 3-2 defeat to Grimsby Town earlier this month, while he also notched an assist during Easter Monday's 1-0 win over automatic promotion hunters Salford City.

Tommi O'Reilly may be better suited to Oxford United move amid Portsmouth interest

O'Reilly has proven his impressive attacking credentials in League Two this season and has made 20 goal contributions across all competitions.

However, just last campaign, the Villa youngster failed to score in 18 appearances while on loan with Shrewsbury, and endured a similarly unproductive loan spell with MK Dons in the second half of the 2024/25 season, notching just one goal in 16 fourth-tier appearances.

Therefore, O'Reilly may not be ready for the step-up to the Championship yet and would be better suited to joining Oxford than Portsmouth.

His performances in League Two for Crewe, though, suggest that he could be a real asset in League One next season, even for a U's outfit who are vying to earn an immediate second-tier return.

Bloomfield needs all the help he can get to lead Oxford back to the Championship, and O'Reilly certainly boasts an admirable eye for goal and a creative edge.

The man on loan at Crewe will hope to impress on his final appearance for Lee Bell's men this term, which sees them host Cambridge United.