THE move to secure Matty Taylor’s future at Oxford United could make further recruitment easier this summer.

A three-year deal for the striker ticked off a major issue on Karl Robinson’s to-do list.

But the U’s head coach wants it to be just the start of a busy period as he attempts to build another side capable of getting in the Sky Bet League One promotion race.

Also read: Matty Taylor deal brings career full circle back to Oxford United

And securing a high-profile name early on cannot harm their chances.

“Other people will look at us and think ‘that’s a statement of intent’ and hopefully a few more can follow,” Robinson said.

“There’s five or six more players of that calibre we need to bring in to make us competitive next year in probably the most competitive League One for many years with the size of the clubs that are in it.

“That’s why he (Taylor) was a necessity.

“If he stays fit you’ve got a 20 goals per season man which everybody else is chasing.

“We’ve got ours in the bag early on.

Also read: Karl Robinson hails 'cult hero' Matty Taylor for accepting pay cut to sign

“It doesn’t make us any better because we already had him, but it keeps us at the competitive end of the table.

“There’s a lot more work to be done to surround that.”

Taylor turned 30 as the country went into lockdown in March.

The investment in his signing goes against United’s model of buying young players to develop and sell on at a profit.

But Robinson believes the striker’s best spell of his career is still to come.

He said: “We think Matty’s going to get better – we don’t think he’s hit his peak.

“Hopefully him being an Oxford United player in a No 9 shirt for the next three years is a tremendous start in the rebuilding of our team.”