Oxford united FC
Ben Davies signs for Bolton Wanderers after Oxford United loan
Davies joins Wanderers as their second signing of the summer, signing a two-year deal with the Whites, and will officially join the club in July ahead of the Championship season.
The 30-year-old spent last season on loan at Oxford after being brought in as one of former head coach Gary Rowett’s summer signings.
Utilised sporadically, Davies struggled to make a real impact on the U’s side and was subject to only 11 appearances across the season, his last game coming in a goalless draw away at Coventry City on February 7.
The former Liverpool, Birmingham City and Preston North End centre back’s contract at parent club Rangers came to end this summer leading Steven Schumacher to bring him to the Toughsheet Community Stadium.
Under current Oxford head coach Matt Bloomfield, Davies fell out of favour as the boss opted to play with a back four rather than a five which Davies sometimes featured in under Rowett.
Upon joining Bolton, Davies said: “It feels brilliant to be here.
“I heard of interest from a few clubs but as soon as I knew Bolton were interested, this was the club I wanted to come to.
“It’s going to be exciting times back in the Championship after an excellent year last season. I’ve seen that the average attendance last year was over 20,000 and that was a massive pull for me.
“I think my Championship experience can help the team on and off the pitch. I’ve met with the gaffer and I like his outlook on football and how he wants to play.
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“It’s going to be amazing stepping out in front of our fans, I’ve played here a few times and the atmosphere has always been brilliant.”
Davies has played over 150 games at Championship level and has also featured in the UEFA Champions League for Rangers.
He made 38 appearances in all competitions and won the Scottish League Cup in his second season but struggled to make a major impact and was loaned out to Birmingham in 2024/25, helping Chris Davies’s side to a record 108-point promotion as champions.
The defender’s new team recently won promotion to the Championship with a 4-1 League One play-off final win over Stockport County.
Wanderers had lost the third tier play-off final two years earlier to Des Buckingham’s Oxford in a 2-0 win for United, Josh Murphy bagging a brace to take the U’s to the second tier for the first time in a quarter of a century.
Martin has agreed a deal with the Foxes, who are the early bookmakers’ favourites to be promoted, to take over as head coach in League One after the club was relegated from the Championship last season.
Ex-U’s head coach Rowett took Leicester down in 23rd place after being sacked by Oxford back in December.
Rowett had taken over from Marti Cifuentes who was sacked in January following a 2-1 defeat to Matt Bloomfield’s Yellows.
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Former Queens Park Rangers boss Cifuentes had Leicester in 14th at the time and six points away from the play-off places but the club were then hit with a six-point deduction in February for breaching EFL financial rules.
Leicester’s new man charge has been out of work since being sacked by Scottish giants Rangers in October after a poor start to the Scottish Premiership season.
Martin previously took Southampton to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs in 2023/24.
He began his managerial career with MK Dons after retiring with the club before moving to Swansea City in 2021 where he spent two years.
The 40-year-old was a defender in his playing days, appearing in 586 matches across his career, 309 of which were for Norwich City.
Whing, who was a key figure at Oxford United under Chris Wilder and Michael Appleton and went on to coach the youth team, led the Puritans to promotion to the National League North for the first time in their history, winning the Southern League Premier Division Central title.
After keeping Banbury in the sixth tier in their first season, the former boss resigned in May 2023.
Whing went on to become to manager of his local club Solihull Moors, guiding them to the National League play-off final before joining Barrow in League Two.
After being sacked by the Bluebirds in December, the 41-year-old is now boss of National League North outfit Brackley Town.
“I’d been there for two-and-a-half or three years, and the rise of the club was unbelievable,” the ex-Coventry City and Brighton & Hove Albion defender exclusively told the Oxford Mail.
“A new stand, went from 300 or 400 fans to 1500 or 1600, 2500 at FA Cup games. It went through the roof and I wanted to keep that going and I just felt they couldn’t, or they wanted to slow down. I thought, if we slow down, we’ll go back down to where we’ve just come from, we need to keep going.
“They were too slow with certain things and I just knew that we were going to struggle next season, going to get relegated.
“One thing was how that would look personally on me and I didn’t want that to happen to the club so I just felt it was the right time for me to go. It was a big gamble because I didn’t have anything lined up.”
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The Banbury job was Whing’s first as manager of a club.
“When I was a youth team manager [at Oxford], we’d sent a few youth team lads out on loan to Banbury so I kind of knew of the club.
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“It happened out the blue really. I’d left Oxford, I had a stint at Kidderminster, a stint at Coventry Under-18s, a stint at Hereford. None of them really worked out.
“I was just working with my mates at a sofa warehouse, didn’t know where to go next, didn’t have a clue.
“I got phone call out of the blue asking if I wanted the Banbury job. And I just thought, it’s a great opportunity, it’s in Oxfordshire and I’ve got contacts in Oxfordshire. I’ve got the football club down the road who I can rely on to send me loan players, which they did do…anything I needed I could always get from them.
“I thought it was a perfect fit [and] luckily I got the job. In the end, it was an absolute perfect fit.”
Oxford United are yet complete their first signing with many other clubs already securing new additions before the window opened.
Ex-Oxford striker Will Goodwin, who was one of 10 players released by the club last month, recently secured a move to League Two side Gillingham.
The U’s have been linked with a number of players despite no incomings arriving as of yet.
The rest of the division has been busy, however.
Perhaps the biggest rumour hitting the division is the closing in on of Russell Martin by Leicester City.
The Foxes are looking for a new manager after suffering Championship relegation under former U’s head coach Gary Rowett.
The BBC has reported that Leicester are close to appointing former Rangers and Southampton boss Russell Martin as their new man in charge.
The 40-year-old has been out of work since being sacked by the Gers in October.
Luton Town boss and former Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere was previously linked but is reportedly committed to the Hatters.
Meanwhile, Oxford’s Thames Valley rivals Reading have tied down midfielder Andy Rinomhota for another season.
READ MORE: Cult hero Andy Whing relives chaotic life at Oxford United
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The midfielder was hit with injury for the majority of last season but has signed a one-year extension with the Berkshire club.
Last season’s play-off semi-finalists Stevenage have brought in a name from a Premier League club.
22-year-old striker Olly Sanderson joins the club from Fulham having graduated from the Cottagers’ academy but did not make a first-team appearance for the Premier League outfit.
Sanderson previously spent time on loan at Oxford City, as well as Sutton United, Bradford City and Harrogate Town.
Last season he scored 19 goals for National League club Woking.
Leyton Orient have secured their first signing of the summer in Tony Springett from Norwich City.
The 23-year-old joins on a two-year deal after being released by the Canaries.
Experienced EFL striker Ashley Fletcher has joined Huddersfield Town from Blackpool.
The 30-year-old scored 32 goals in two seasons for the Seasiders.
Newly-promoted side Cambridge United have signed striker Callum Stead from Barnet, whom the U’s are set to face in pre-season at The Hive.
Peterborough United have secured the services of Walsall defender Evan Weir.
The Irish full back joins the Posh on a three-year contract after not being offered a new deal by the Saddlers.
Another Walsall man is headed for League One with Wigan Athletic signing wing back Connor Barrett.
The 24-year-old was named in the League Two Team of the Season in 2024/25.
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