Leicester City shipped Ben Nelson on loan to Oxford United last summer.
Ben Nelson started to become a key figure under Enzo Maresca towards the back end of the promotion campaign.
The then teenager was even starting ahead of Conor Coady and looked set to become a mainstay thereafter.
However, once Maresca left, it threw Nelson’s short-term Leicester future into doubt and sure enough, Steve Cooper decided to send him back to the Championship to further his development.
Nelson has endured a disrupted campaign with injury but has returned to action in recent weeks after months on the sidelines.
The Leicester loanee has now clocked up 13 appearances in an Oxford shirt and supporters have a lot to say about the young defender.
Oxford fans so impressed by Leicester City loanee Ben Nelson
Replying to the post below, Oxford United fans gave their verdict on how Nelson has fared on loan at the Kassam Stadium.
“Great player. Loads of pace. Very calm. Good under pressure. Can be a little bit casual. But overall, he’s excellent. Easily high-end Championship already. Will play PL,” @Richard12158891 commented.
@h_oufc replied: “He’s your best centre half.”
@maxoneill_95 said: “He’ll be starting every game for you next season.”
“Will be your first teamer next season easy,” @dikko17 added.
@Callum_OUFC sarcastically wrote: “Not good enough for Leicester so you should save the hassle and release him on a free.”
“Stay up so we can have him again next season,” @heyit5sam said.
Nelson will be crucial in Leicester’s promotion campaign
Clearly, Leicester already have a ready-made centre-back for their Championship promotion campaign next season.
Nelson, who is still only 21, could partner alongside Harry Souttar once he’s back from an achilles injury which ruled him out for the season at Sheffield United.
Souttar was really impressing Blades fans and would be the ideal partner for the Foxes academy graduate.
Alternatively, former loanee Callum Doyle could become an option, though, City would need to fork out in excess of £10m to land his signature from Manchester City.