Dan Church

Oxford United have confirmed the signing of Robert Hall from West Ham United, whilst Us striker Jon-Paul Pittman has joined fellow Division Four high-flyers Crawley Town. Hall arrives at United on a one-month emergency loan following a dislocated shoulder to Middlesbrough loanee Jonathan Franks, which has seen him sidelined for up to a month. Franks only joined the Yellows on transfer deadline day, after Boro boss Tony Mowbray agreed to let the 21-year-old forward go out to gain fitness at Grenoble Road until 1 January. Hall, 17 and from Aylesbury, has represented England at a similar national level to Franks; playing at Under-18 level and being part of the team that won the UEFA Under-17 European Championships.

Hall being in sensational form for the Hammers development squad this season, with six goals in seven matches, and Sam Allardyce's young forward will be available to make his debut away to Dagenham & Redbridge on tonight. The speedy striker has yet to make a first-team appearance for West Ham. Hall will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of other East London graduates such as Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Frank Lampard and England World Cup winning captain Booby Moore.

The departure of Jon-Paul Pittman on a 93-day emergency loan deal to Crawley Town follows a disappointing substitute appearance in the frustrating 1-1 home draw to Burton Albion on Saturday. Chris Wilder claimed recently that the 24-year-old had “not been doing enough” in training and games and the manager has acted decisively to reshape his front line. JP has failed to live up to his goal scoring pedigree since joining from Wycombe Wanderers at the end of last season. However, he has only managed six first-team appearances this season, all being from the bench except for the Cardiff City match, and he has failed to score in any of them. The 5