The 20-year-old striker has scored in his past two games, coming off the bench to head in a stoppage time leveller at home to West Bromwich Albion, before netting on his first U’s league start in midweek against Derby County.

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It leaves United head coach Buckingham with a selection headache for the trip to Sky Bet Championship leaders Sunderland.

He said: “It’s a great problem. It’s one we didn’t have last year. We had to roll Mark Harris out pretty much every week last year, and thankfully he didn’t get injured.

“Dane has been very patient, and the limited game time he had, he came on and made an impact.

“It was important to pick the right moment to start him, and I’m delighted he got on the end of what was a good team move.

“It’ll do his confidence the world of good, and also shows now that he is more than capable of leading that line.

“Whether it’s him, whether it’s Sparky, or a combination of both at some point, it’s nice to know we’ve got the ability to rest Sparky or replace him.”