Oxford united FC
Falkirk boss on Barney Stewart links after Oxford United bid
It was revealed by Football Insider last week that Oxford United had had a bid rejected for the Falkirk striker, with West Bromwich Albion and Lincoln City also seeing offers turned down.
Stewart bagged 10 goals in 21 appearance since returning to the Bairns in January having spent the first half of the season on loan in the Scottish Championship with Dunfermline Athletic.
The 22-year-old won the SFWA Young Player of the Year Award and addressed rumours linking him with a move away from Falkirk.
“It is insane,” the former Queens Park Rangers trainee declared.
“If it was to happen it would be a massive step and a quick rise if it does happen and one I would have to take in my stride, but speculation is speculation.”
Stewart began his career in the Scottish lower league with Heriot-Watt University before securing a move to the Bairns in 2024.
He has garnered a lot of interest already this year after taking to the Scottish Premiership with ease at a young age.
Speaking to the Falkirk Herald, Falkirk boss McGlynn said the club is open to the departure of his striker talent.
“If the price is right,” he replied when asked if Stewart would depart this summer.
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“We’ve had fair offers from two or three clubs for Barney. It’s very early yet so we don’t feel any rush because other offers might come in.
“If we were to get a certain amount of money for Barney, it would go on a grass park and we need training facilities which is where some of that money will go to.
“I’d still expect more offers. Whether it’s enough for the board to accept, I’m not sure.”
The Baggies’ bid for Stewart was reportedly a seven-figure offer.
After Oxford’s relegation to League One, it will be interesting to see whether they can compete with the club in the higher tier for signings this summer, especially ones garnering a higher fee.
The Scotland Under-21 international is also said to have drawn interest from Scottish giants and SPL champions Celtic.
Lincoln’s bid for the striker was also said to have been seven figures.
The U’s are also reportedly in the hunt for Stewart’s Falkirk teammate Liam Henderson.
The 29-year-old centre back has apparently impressed both Oxford and Plymouth Argyle with his performances for the sixth-placed Bairns this season.
The U’s were relegated last season after finishing 22nd and return to the third tier after two years in the Championship.
The club released ten players at the end of the campaign upon the expiry of their contracts, including first-team regulars Przemyslaw Placheta and Hidde ter Avest.
There is work to be done in deciding to futures of fringe players such as Siriki Dembele, Peter Kioso, and Greg Leigh, but there is also expected to be interest in some of the more standout squad members.
Michal Helik
An experienced Championship centre back having played over 200 second-tier matches, Helik will likely garner interest from England and abroad.
The Pole was crucial in helping the U’s stay in the division last season under Gary Rowett and, despite not having quite the same impact this term, has reportedly already drawn interest the Championship and Polish league.
Sources in Poland confirmed that Helik has a release clause in his contract following United’s relegation which is reportedly in the region of £650,000.
The 30-year-old has been relegated from the Championship twice before with both Barnsley and Huddersfield Town both times managed to secure transfer moves back to the second tier with the Terriers and then Oxford.
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Brian De Keersmaecker
After being widely-recognised as the Yellows’ best player as the team struggled in the first half of the season, De Keersmaecker has already drawn admirers from elsewhere despite only arriving in OX4 last summer.
The Belgian picked up a shoulder injury in January and opted to have surgery which ended his season early.
Despite this, De Keersmaecker impressed during his time in a yellow shirt and was recently linked to second-tier side Derby County by reporter Alan Nixon.
The former Heracles Almelo midfielder scored his only goal for the U’s in a 2-1 defeat to Preston North End in December and managed five assists in his 28 appearances.
Stan Mills
Mills won both the Supporters’ Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards for Oxford this season after a standout year in yellow.
The 22-year-old was a consistently impressive performer on the right flank, bursting into life under Matt Bloomfield in the second half of the campaign.
He will no doubt have admirers from the Championship and so it is down to the club as to the size of the price tag on his head this summer.
It feels like a win-win regarding Mills, with the U’s either earning good money for a sale or keeping a player who will no doubt take League One by storm.
The U’s will compete in the third tier of English football next season after suffering relegation from the Championship this term, finishing 22nd in the league and four points from safety.
With their relegation, the club will naturally take a financial hit which, with a new stadium and upgrades to the academy in the pipeline, will be a challenge for the U’s to navigate.
Last week, the EFL confirmed changes to the Salary Cost Management Protocol (SCMP) rules in League One and League Two.
In a statement, the EFL stated: “League One Clubs approved changes to the existing Salary Cost Management Protocol (SCMP) rules, with the aim of reducing losses and the reliance on owner funding in the division.
“The long-standing SCMP rules limit spending on player wages to a percentage of a club’s turnover.”
The changes mean that clubs in League One will now only be able to spend 50 per cent of their turnover on wages, compared to the 60 per cent previously permitted.
However, the rules differ for clubs relegated from the Championship who will be able to 65 per cent of turnover on wages, compared a previous 75 per cent.
In addition to these rules, the EFL also confirmed further updates: “League One clubs also approved a change to remove the staggered approach to equity injections in the division, meaning that all equity injections will be included within the calculation at 50%.
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“As an example, this means that if an owner invests £500k into the club, a maximum of £250k (in addition to that already permitted as a percentage of turnover) can be spent on wages.
“This approach is intended to encourage investment into other areas of club operations, such as infrastructure and youth development.”
Speaking on BBC Radio Oxford’s podcast The Dub, EFL pundit and Oxford United fan, George Elek, reviewed the changes.
“It transpires that this has been in the works for quite a long time and that this won’t be a shock to anybody at the club,” Elek said.
“I’m sure that early budgetary conversations had factored this in. This wasn’t one of those things that suddenly came out of nowhere to impact everything.
“It might mean that trying to get back up this season is going to be easier than what comes after, but it gives us time to, I guess, cost effectively if we need to, plan for next summer rather than having to immediately bring the wage bill down to that degree.
“I’d say no cause for alarm and a silver lining in there that we get special dispensation after relegation.”
Saints were kicked out of the Championship play-off final and deducted four points for next season after it was found that they had spied on Middlesbrough prior to their 1-0 semi-final aggregate win over Boro.
They have also been found guilty of spying on Oxford in December and Ipswich in April.
The U’s beat the St Mary’s side despite the visitors having now been found to have breached EFL rules, Craig Short’s U’s winning 2-1 at the Kassam three days after former head coach Gary Rowett had been sacked.
Saints had appealed their punishment but the decision was upheld and it has since been revealed that Tonda Eckert had ‘specifically authorised observations to obtain information about formation’ regarding Oxford’s tactical setup.
The Yellows have since been relegated from the second tier after finishing 22nd in the league and four points from safety, whilst other victims Ipswich won automatic promotion by finishing second in the table.
Meanwhile, Boro will replace Eckert’s side in Saturday’s play-off final at Wembley and face Hull City in the battle for Premier League promotion.
Fans of all three victim clubs have felt hard done by, as well as the rest of the Championship, as it has been found that Southampton acted in an unsportsmanlike fashion.
Supporters have taken to social media throughout the week to voice their opinions on the debacle.
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One user on X said: “EFL applied too much latitude reducing points deduction tariff. I’d hope if either side had been in Champ next season Southampton would have had bigger negative points start to give both ‘victim’ sides a bigger head start. [By the way], seriously can’t imagine it’s only 3 sides…”
No. But EFL applied too much latitude reducing points deduction tariff. I’d hope if either side had been in Champ next season Southampton would have had bigger negative points start to give both ‘victim’ sides a bigger head start.
Btw seriously can’t imagine it’s only 3 sides…
— Mancgas (@mancgas) May 22, 2026
A Tractor Boys fan stated: “From an Ipswich point of view, no. They got a 2 point deduction for it. That’s a proper application of the rules. We suffered no loss as we still got promoted.”
Another Ipswich supporter said: “Oxford can have our compensation. We don’t need any more money we have enough from getting promoted.”
Some U’s fans were more cut-throat than others, with one Facebook user saying: “If Southampton were disqualified then the league games should void too.”
And another wishing: “Southampton relegated and Oxford back into the Championship….we can dream.”
On the other hand, one supporter declared: “We won [the game against Southampton]…enough said.”
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