Oxford United join race for Irish League Two striker

According to transfer correspondent Pete O’Rourke Oxford United and fellow League One side Leyton Orient have joined the chase for Grimsby striker Jaze Kabia this summer.

The Irish attacker scored 23 goals and registered  three assists in Grimsby’s promotion pushing in League Two.

READ MORE: Oxford United interested in former Tottenham defender

The Irishman has spent large parts of his career playing in the Scottish pyramid across spells with the likes of Greenock Morton, Falkirk and Livingston in recent years.

He made 13 appearances for Livingston scoring one goal and providing three assists, 24 appearances for Morton proving eight goal contributions and five goal contribution across 12 appearances for Falkirk.

Across his entire career to this point, Kabia has scored 66 goals and provided 26 assists across 245 senior appearances.

The U’s will be in the market for a striker following the departure of loan signing Will Lankshear as he returned to parent club Tottenham Hotspur.

Lankshear joined The U’s on loan last summer from Premier League outfit Spurs and has been an icon in OX4.

Winning the club’s men’s Golden Boot and Young Player of the Season awards, the 21-year-old’s performances in yellow and exemplary attitude off the pitch have seen fans fall enamoured with the forward.

Lankshear played 47 times and scored 12 goals in all competitions for a struggling Yellows side which suffered relegation to League One.

The young goal scorer stayed on the pitch the longest after Oxford’s final game of the season, saying an emotional goodbye to The U’s fans.

Striker Nik Prelec similarly on loan from Italian side Cagliari returned to his parent club after scoring one goal in 25 appearances.