Oxford Target Conor Chaplin In Ambitious Push For Championship Return

Oxford United have expressed an interest in signing free-agent striker Conor Chaplin as they look to assemble a squad capable of winning promotion straight back to the Championship, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.

SportsBoom understands the U’s are among the clubs monitoring the former Ipswich Town forward after he was released this month following a memorable five-year spell at Portman Road.

Oxford are eager to add proven quality, leadership and promotion-winning experience to their ranks, and few players on the market can match Chaplin’s recent achievements in the Football League.

The 29-year-old was a central figure in Ipswich’s remarkable rise under Kieran McKenna, who was linked with the AFC Bournemouth role prior to Marco Rose securing the vacant role. 

During the 2022-23 campaign, Chaplin fired the Tractor Boys out of League One, scoring an outstanding 26 goals in 45 league appearances as they secured promotion to the Championship.

He followed that up with another superb season as Ipswich completed a stunning second successive promotion. 

SWEET SUCCESS

Chaplin struck 13 goals in 44 league games as the Suffolk club finished runners-up in the Championship and secured a long-awaited return to the Premier League.

But after tasting the sweet success of back-to-back promotions, fortunes turned. Ipswich were relegated from the top flight the following season, and Chaplin found first-team opportunities limited, leading to a loan move back to his boyhood club Portsmouth for most of last term.

The move did not produce the fairytale return many had hoped for, with the striker scoring two goals in 36 Championship appearances for Pompey. 

Despite that, his reputation remains strong thanks to an impressive body of work built across more than a decade in the professional game.

Chaplin leaves Ipswich having scored 55 goals in 174 appearances for the Blues, playing a major role in one of the most successful periods in the club’s modern history.

REPUTATION

Born in Worthing, he came through Portsmouth’s academy before establishing himself in the first team as a teenager. Subsequent spells with Coventry City and Barnsley enhanced his reputation before Ipswich secured his services in 2021.

A League Two title winner and twice a Championship runner-up, Chaplin has accumulated 403 league appearances during a distinguished career packed with big-game experience and promotion success.

Oxford believe those qualities could prove crucial as they attempt to bounce back at the first opportunity and reclaim their place in the second tier.

Now available on a free transfer, Chaplin is expected to attract interest from several clubs this summer. 

But Oxford are hoping their ambitious plans and desire for an immediate return to the Championship can persuade the experienced frontman to make the Kassam Stadium his next destination.