Oxford United have signed left-sided youngster Tareiq Holmes-Dennis on loan from Charlton Athletic.

The Londoner, who turns 19 later this month, has yet to make his senior debut but is highly rated by the Championship club, who gave him a three year professional contract last October.

Holmes-Dennis, a former captain of Charlton's youth team who has been involved in the England Under 18 set-up, is eligible to make his United debut at home to Tranmere Rovers on Saturday.

U's boss Michael Appleton says the arrival will increase the options on the left flank.

  • Latest United news:

He said: "Something I’ve been trying to do for a while is to get a lot of competition in all the areas of the squad to rule out any complacency.

"Tareiq will give us lots of energy, a lot of people in the game that I’ve spoken to speak very highly of the kid."

As a youth loan, it does not have a set return date, but is likely to be reviewed after a month.

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.