Oxford United summer arrival Idris El Mizouni has revealed why he swapped Ipswich Town for the Championship new boys.

The midfielder, who grew frustrated at the lack of opportunities with Ipswich, has joined Oxford for a fee believed to be in the region of £400,000 and on a three-year contract after spending two impressive seasons on loan with Leyton Orient.

An Ipswich academy graduate, El Mizouni has played just 100 minutes of Championship football in his career and made 26 appearances for the Tractor Boys, undertaking loan spells at Cambridge United, Grimsby Town and Orient before sealing a permanent Portman Road exit this summer.

He’s now joined Oxford in what’s turning out to be a busy summer for the club following their promotion via the League One play-off final in May.

The U’s were dealt a real blow by Josh Murphy’s refusal to put pen to paper on a new contract in the wake of bagging the brace that sent them back to the second-tier at Bolton Wanderers’ expense, with the former Norwich and Cardiff City winger deciding to join John Mousinho at Portsmouth following their own promotion as champions.

However, Oxford have signed no less than eight players and counting in a bid to stave off the threat of an immediate return to League One.

Idris El Mizouni’s bullish Ipswich Town verdict after signing for Oxford United

El Mizouni is relishing the challenge of establishing himself in the second-tier, which he’s evidently frustrated about not being able to do while with Ipswich.

“It’s a massive move and the first time I’ve got a permanent move after signing for Ipswich. It’s a big move for me,” El Mizouni told the Witney Gazette.

“The aim is to establish myself as a Championship player. I made four appearances when they went down from the Championship, but that wasn’t enough.

“I just need to put my head down and hopefully have a good season with the club, and kick on from there really.

“I spoke to Kyle Edwards, and he told me good things. That made it a bit clearer for me, but I’m here because I made the decision. It’s good to see Kyle and Greg [Leigh] because I had a good time with them at Ipswich. The rest are fresh new faces.”

Idris El Mizouni adds to promising Oxford United midfield options

Buckingham will have a healthy selection headache when the upcoming campaign rolls around, with El Mizouni adding to an impressive assembly of midfield options. Oxford often deployed a three-man midfield in a 4-3-3 during their promotion season and while Buckingham will naturally have to adapt his system somewhat in the Championship, they’ll also need to stay consistent as central midfield is undoubtedly where they’re strongest.

Tyler Goodrham and Ruben Rodrigues are two exciting, technically-proficient and highly-creative options who sit infront of a deep-lying midfielder, which could be any of Josh McEachran, Cameron Brannagan, Marcus McGuane, Will Vaulks or El Mizouni.

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Cameron Brannagan has been a key player for the U’s in recent seasons, but is entering the final year of his contract with the club.

Buckingham may well shunt academy graduate Goodrham out wide, where he can also operate, in order to facilitate a more rounded midfield shape and El Mizouni could well offer that with his composure in possession and ability to break up play when required.