Ipswich Town agreement with Oxford United has made sense for all parties: View

HIGHLIGHTS

•  Greg Leigh struggled at Ipswich but found success at Oxford United with impressive performances and goals from the wing-back role.
•  Leigh’s athleticism and dynamic play helped him earn the League One Player of the Month award for September, showcasing his talent.
•  Despite a challenging start at Oxford, Leigh’s contributions have been crucial in their play-off push, hoping for promotion at the end of the season.

Sometimes a transfer works out, sometimes it doesn’t, and Greg Leigh knows that all too well after his doomed spell at Ipswich Town.

The Jamaica international joined the Tractor Boys from Morecambe in the summer of 2022, after impressing for the Shrimpers in their first-ever season at League One level with a host of impressive performances.

Things didn’t go quite to plan in his time at Portman Road though, with his season starting with a series of appearances from the substitutes’ bench before a fractured leg saw him ruled out for a considerable portion of the season.

After moving to Oxford United last summer, the 29-year-old has experienced a return to his old ways, and has already made himself a fans’ favourite at the Kassam Stadium after a plethora of strong displays.

Greg Leigh Ipswich Town fortunes, Oxford United form

Leigh’s time in Suffolk never really got the chance to get going last season, with just a solitary League One start to his name before sustaining the injury that would rule him out for just shy of three months.

The defender picked up the issue in the dying stages of a 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday in September, before returning to league action on the opening weekend of December in a 1-1 draw with Fleetwood Town.

By that point, Ipswich had fully found their groove under Kieran McKenna, leaving Leigh to face a future as a bit-part player in the East Anglian side’s promotion push, with just two more league starts between his reintroduction to the side and the end of the season.

With the Tractor Boys moving up a division, the decision was made for the defender to find a new home after just 12 months in Suffolk, with Brandon Williams’ arrival pushing the Jamaican further down the ladder in the fight for a first team spot.

Town’s loss proved to be Oxford United’s gain though, with the U’s immediately seeing the impact of the all-action left-sided star’s displays, with a goal against Port Vale coming in just his second appearance for the club.

That strike marked the start of an incredible run of five goals in six matches after Liam Manning’s decision to utilise him further forward in a wing-back role, with a brace against Stevenage the perfect reward for seeing his potential as a goal threat from the flanks.

His athleticism and dynamic play down the left was enough to earn him the League One Player of the Month trophy for September, as the U’s continued to challenge Portsmouth at the top of the table after a stunning start to the season.

Manager Manning was soon snapped up by Bristol City with Des Buckingham coming in to replace him, meaning the defender has had to settle for a more contained position in his defensive role of late, but that still hasn’t stopped him from unleashing his potential at both ends of the pitch.

A 5-0 drubbing by Bolton Wanderers aside, United have managed to keep things tight at the back of late, and currently lead the race for the final playoff place in the third tier; leading Lincoln City by two points with four games left to play.

A late winner against Cheltenham Town last month proved he still has what it takes to get himself on the scoresheet despite having less licence to push forward, but it is a system that is getting Buckingham’s side results as it stands, following a shaky spell when the former Mumbai City man initially took charge.

One win in six matches wasn’t the homecoming the self-confessed Oxford fan would have dreamed of, but he has turned the ship around to sustain a playoff push in the final stretches of the season, with the dependability of players like Leigh helping to keep standards high across the pitch.

Oxford United League One run-in

Leigh’s experience is going to be crucial if United are to get over the line and earn themselves a place in the end-of-season lottery, with four huge fixtures coming up which will play a big part in the final standings at the top of the table.

The U’s have three home matches in a row coming up – all against teams who harbour hopes of achieving promotion this season – with Peterborough United the first to visit the Kassam Stadium this Saturday.

Posh will still fancy their chances of automatic promotion from the third tier, sitting six points behind second-placed Derby County with two games in hand on the Rams, and will be coming out all guns blazing in the hope of getting a result this weekend.

Leigh’s defensive qualities will be tested thoroughly against Darren Ferguson’s side, although the visitors’ tendency to throw players forward could give him the opportunity to exploit holes at the back; something he has already shown a penchant for earlier in the campaign.

Next Tuesday could be the match that really decides Oxford’s fate though, with nearest playoff rivals Lincoln City coming to town, and looking to steal sixth spot off of them with a victory.

Stevenage’s direct style of play will offer a different test the following weekend, with Steve Evans’s side still not out of the playoff equation just yet, before traveling to Exeter City for what could be a crucial end-of-season fixture in May.

Leigh has played a massive part in United keeping up their playoff contention, and with four massive games to come he could play an even bigger part in earning them the chance to battle for promotion.

Whether he is bombing forward or keeping the opposition out at the back, he has proven himself to be a top performer in the third tier, and if luck had been on his side, we could have seen more of that last season for Ipswich Town.

Oxford won’t be complaining though; they got themselves a goalscoring, dynamic defender, and Leigh got himself plenty of minutes in the tank after a frustrating season last year, and he’ll be hoping that move pays off with promotion by the time the campaign comes to an end.

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