JOEL Cooper is aiming to get Oxford United fans off their seats after becoming the club’s first signing of the summer.

The winger joined yesterday on an undisclosed fee from Irish League champions Linfield, putting pen to paper on a three-year deal.

He is the third player United have signed from Northern Ireland in the last two years, following moves for Gavin Whyte and Mark Sykes.

Read also: Oxford United sign Joel Cooper from Linfield

Whyte, now at Cardiff City, excited U’s supporters with a series of impressive performances and his countryman is hoping to have a similar impact.

Cooper said: “I’d say I was very direct, I don’t really like playing backwards.

“I want to try to make an impact – it can probably be frustrating at times, but I try to score and create something.

“I like to mix it up.

“It makes it harder to defend against and hopefully I can continue to learn and improve.”

The move is still subject to international clearance when the transfer window reopens on Monday.

Cooper played alongside Sykes at Glenavon between 2015 and 2018, before moving to Linfield and winning back-to-back titles.

The 24-year-old was particularly influential last season, scoring 13 goals and creating 17 before the coronavirus pandemic halted the campaign.

His last competitive game was in March, but he already has a few weeks of pre-season training with Linfield under his belt.

It means Cooper feels he can hit the ground running when United return next month and become a key member of Karl Robinson’s squad.

He said: “There’s different types of fitness and you can only really get match fitness by playing matches.

“I’ve had a few in-house friendlies with the Linfield lads, which has given me a good amount of minutes.

“I feel like it shouldn’t take me too long to get back to it.”

Cooper added: “The aim is first to establish myself and make my mark on the team.

“After that is for everyone else, but my job’s just to perform for Oxford.”