Oxford United must be laughing at Preston North End decision for one clear reason | OneFootball

Preston pushed hard to bring Stan Mills to Deepdale, but it allowed Oxford United to unearth a true gem from their academy

Oxford United were in a truly difficult position throughout the summer, as a transfer embargo limited their ability to retool and rebuild after relegation.

The new League One outfit were statistically a lower mid-table side in the 21 games managed by Matt Bloomfield, picking up 25 points in that time. Evidently, despite their eventual relegation, there were still some players in the squad who had proved themselves to be Championship-quality.

But the ability to reinvest any money from player sales was ruled out early in the summer after the Yellows were placed under a temporary transfer embargo for failing to comply with the Salary Cost Management Protocol regulations in League One.

Despite owner Dusan Bogdanovic taking a strong stance on players not being sold while they were under embargo, some players did manage to find new clubs over the summer transfer window. One of those sales, though, may have worked in Oxford's favour.

Preston North End paid more for Stanley Mills than expected to bring him to Deepdale this summer

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The main transfer saga surrounding Oxford this summer concerned Stanley Mills, who had established himself as a solid wide option for the Championship at the Kassam Stadium and, at 22, has plenty of room to improve and grow, too.

Preston North End were interested in bringing him to Deepdale to continue that development, but due to the embargo, Oxford were hesitant to sell. In a very rare situation, the new Yellows boss, Aaron Ramsey, explained that a deal had been agreed for the January window, but he wouldn't be leaving in the summer.

Mills opted not to play in Oxford's League One opener against MK Dons, but came off the bench the following week and assisted in a win against Stevenage. With just over a week left of the transfer window, many saw that as the 22-year-old accepting the situation.

However, towards the end of the transfer window, Preston upped their bid, which Oxford accepted, seeing him leave anyway, but for more money than he was perhaps worth at the time.

Stanley Mills' departure has opened the door for Mo Missanga to make a real impact at Oxford United

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Since Mills' move to Preston was made official, the starting spot on the right wing for Aaron Ramsey's side has been occupied by 18-year-old Mo Missanga, who even Oxford fans likely hadn't heard of before the start of this season.

The 2008-born wideman wasn't given a squad number to start the season and didn't begin the year on the Oxford squad page on the Yellows' website. He was brought on towards the end of the 2-2 draw with MK Dons, but was unused from the bench against Stevenage.

But since their loss against Huddersfield Town, Missanga has taken League One by storm, and Oxford fans are rightly excited about what their academy graduate can do throughout the campaign.

Missanga's real introduction came in the 4-0 hammering of Leicester City at the King Power — a result that caught the eye of many neutrals mainly because of the nature of the Foxes' defeat. But those watching couldn't help but feel that Oxford's number 57 was a star in the making.

While his games following that haven't resulted in goal involvements, he's still proving to be a real handful. His 3.2 successful dribbles per 90 is the second-most in the entire division, and he's completing those at an impressive 62.5% rate.

Oxford have a lot to look forward to regarding Missanga, which is quite something, given his lack of experience ahead of this season.

How Stanley Mills is getting on at Preston North End

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While Missanga is more than helping Oxford fans move on from Mills, the 22-year-old isn't doing much at Deepdale to make those inside the Kassam miss him too much.

It's not been a good start for Preston on the whole, but Mills isn't proving why the Lilywhites paid that extra more to bring him to the club a few months early just yet.

The former Everton academy graduate continues to be one of the brighter young stars on the right wing, taking on players, but the end product isn't there at all just yet. In just over 350 minutes, Mills has taken just two shots and created just one big chance.

That big chance did come in his most recent outing in the 2-2 draw with QPR at Loftus Road, and he provided the assist for Johnny Kenny's first inside the opening 30 seconds. Preston fans will be hoping that can be the catalyst for a solid season creatively.

Oxford United are currently laughing loudest after Stanley Mills' transfer saga

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Oxford were one of the few sides across the entire EFL that nobody knew what to expect of heading into this season, with a new head coach in charge and a summer impacted by the transfer embargo.

But the Yellows have started brightly and are currently sat 10th with 11 points from six games. They have at least one, if not two, games in hand over the rest of the competition as well.

Meanwhile, Preston's terrible start to the campaign saw them sack Paul Heckingbottom after losing their sixth in their opening seven league games. The underlying numbers may suggest they've been underachieving, but the mood around Deepdale hasn't been great.

It's up to Graham Alexander to change that, and given how effective Josh Neufville was as a wing-back in his system at Bradford City, perhaps Mills could be in line for a big role under the new head coach.

But for the time being, it's Oxford who have won out on this particular deal, and the longer Missanga continues to shine, the more they'll look back on the decision to let Mills go fondly.