Oxford United have finally found their replacement for Josh Ruffels in the form of Birmingham City's Steve Seddon.

Karl Robinson has been searching for a new left-back ever since Ruffels ended his eight-year association with the U's by signing for Championship side Huddersfield Town, and Robinson has looked to the division above League One for the man to replace him.

Seddon joined Birmingham as a scholar in 2014 before being offered a professional contract two years later, but he failed to break into the club's senior squad and he ended up out on loan to both AFC Wimbledon and Stevenage before finally getting a chance in 2019 with the Blues.

Further loans in 2020 followed to Portsmouth and a return to Wimbledon, but Seddon finally got a consistent run of games at the back end of the 2020-21 season under new head coach Lee Bowyer, who played him seven times to assess what he had to work with.

With the arrival of Juan Castillo though to battle with Kristian Pedersen at left-back, Seddon's chances of football next season were set to be limited and he's now linked up with Oxford on a three-year deal.

The Verdict

This is a shrewd capture for Oxford, who needed an attack-minded left-back to replace the creativity and delivery that Ruffels provided for so many years.

Seddon has done a lot of his work on loan in League One so he knows the level well and you'd imagine he will be one of the top left-backs in the division when he gets going.

This one may be one that comes back to haunt Birmingham in a couple of years time - they're not likely to have held out on a big fee for Seddon and with Pedersen's contract coming to a head next summer, the Blues could be shopping for multiple left-backs and could regret letting Seddon depart.