Oxford United will certainly be viewing the current January transfer window as a brilliant opportunity to strengthen their promotion ambitions, with Karl Robinson's side currently sitting in fifth place of the League One standings. 

One player who will no doubt go a long way towards achieving this target is experienced midfielder George Thorne, with the club today announcing that they have secured the services of the 27-year-old Derby County man on a permanent transfer.

Thorne brings a wealth of Championship experience to the table, having turned out for the Rams on over 70 occasions before making his temporary move to the Kassam Stadium this summer.

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The addition of Thorne on a permanent deal now opens up the possibility of Robinson being able to rotate his midfield options on a more consistent basis than perhaps he has previously aimed to.

Here, we take a look at ONE winner and ONE loser at Oxford after the club completed the transfer of George Thorne earlier today....

Winner

Alex Rodriguez 

The addition of Thorne will seemingly decrease the amount of strain that has been put on the shoulders of Alex Rodriguez, with the Spaniard having largely taken on the vast amount of defensive responsibility in the centre of the park.

Thorne will in theory provide Robinson with another midfield option that is capable of breaking up the play, whilst also offering a good screen in front of the back four when the team are out of possession.

Loser 

Mark Sykes 

The Northern Irishman could well see his game time limited even further by the presence of Thorne, with the 22-year-old having already fallen behind in the pecking order due to the loan signing of Nathan Holland from West Ham.

Thorne will have no doubt been guaranteed a regular starting spot as part of the negotiations for the deal that has taken him to Oxfordshire, thus putting the midfielder's starting spot at risk.