The end of a transfer window doesn’t have to mean the end of comings and goings – as the signature of forward Matt Phillips demonstrated in February 2026. His arrival may have been just shy of two weeks after the end of the standard January window. But the veteran player had been allowed to leave Oxford United at the start of February. A free agent, then, and Boro’s to swoop in for; Alex Revell‘s side enduring a well-documented struggle to score goals. Not that we’d have welcomed Phillips with the acute expectation he’d solve all woes.
His deal with us took him up to the end of the 2025-26 League One campaign at first – and no further. It was certainly evident that, despite it being the latter stage of his career, that Phillips gave us fresh impetus in our hunt for a League One playoff place. In his 19 outings, there was the semblance of a good understanding with Jamie Reid too. Yes, goals were at a premium – two, in fact. But we were hardly rampant in front of goal as a collective anyway. We allowed him to leave at the end of the 2025-26 season – presumably to free up the wage bill for a longer-term solution?
We’ll see how that one turns out.
Matt Phillips: Before Boro’
How many outings in the Football League is it? Well, at least 450-odd. He started out at Wycombe Wanderers in 1999; part of their youth set-up. With the Chairboys, Phillips turned pro in 2008 and broke into their first team. Indeed, there was a bit of a starring role in their 2008-09 promotion campaign. In 2010, he moved to Blackpool – then of the Premier League and spent three years there; time that included a loan stint at Sheffield United. There’d also be notable spells at both QPR and, to a larger extent, West Brom. Indeed, there was more Premier League time for Phillips while he was with the Baggies. After eight years there, however, he was let go in 2024.
That moment gave Oxford United the chance to move in and sign the forward, having recently won promotion up to the Championship. It doesn’t appear game time was in abundance during his 18 months at the Kassam Stadium. And that is perhaps why he had the chance to depart by mutual consent in early 2026.
