Leyton Orient chasing Oxford United transfer agreement as £150k asking price emerges | OneFootball

Leyton Orient are reportedly interested in a move for Oxford United winger Owen Dale

Leyton Orient are reportedly interested in striking an agreement for Oxford United winger Owen Dale, who is valued at a fee of £150,000.

That's according to a recent report from The Sun's Alan Nixon, who has reported - via his exclusive Patreon service - that Richie Wellens is looking to add another attacker to his squad this month in the form of Dale.

Orient recently completed the loan signing of Blackburn Rovers' Dilan Markanday, who made his debut in Saturday's stalemate draw at Peterborough United, but are intending on bringing in further acquisitions.

They could seemingly pounce on Dale's situation at the Kassam Stadium, with the attacker out-of-favour this term.

The 26-year-old has made 11 Championship appearances and just four starts across 348 minutes of football amid competition for places from the likes of Przemyslaw Placheta, Matthew Phillips and Siriki Dembele.

Leyton Orient's transfer interest in Oxford United's Owen Dale

According to Nixon, Orient are looking to use the cash windfall from their progression to the fourth round of the FA Cup to broker a deal for the winger this month.

Wellens' side will welcome Pep Guardiola's Manchester City to Brisbane Road on February 8 after advancing past Derby County on penalties in the third round, having also beaten non-league duo Boreham Wood and Oldham Athletic to get that far.

They are looking to put that cash to good use by completing a move for Dale, who is free to leave Oxford in the remainder of this month's window, despite having only joined the U's from Blackpool last February.

Nixon's report suggests Oxford's asking price of £150,000 is not in line with the valuation held by Orient, who are said to be hoping to arrive at a compromise with the Championship side ahead of a potential deal.

At 26, Dale has spent the bulk of his career in English football's third tier and that's bound to be an attractive factor for Orient, who are currently in contention for a shock play-off finish.

Wellens has the side arguably punching above its weight as they sit in eighth, just three points off sixth-placed Stockport County and with a game in hand, so Dale's experience and know-how at this level could come up trumps in the back-end of the campaign.

It's perhaps not quite worked out for him at Oxford, but Dale has previously impressed with the likes of Crewe Alexandra and Portsmouth, and Orient could be a good destination for his career to be relaunched under Wellens.

Orient and Oxford will have to agree on a figure first, as they still appear apart in their valuations, but this deal certainly makes a lot of sense and could be something of a coup if Dale can be prized away from the U's.