SHANDON Baptiste is in talks about a new Oxford United contract after his breakthrough performance at Sunderland last weekend.

The 20-year-old was hugely impressive in only his second Sky Bet League One start, a 1-1 draw in front of 32,000 supporters at the Stadium of Light.

It continued his upward curve which started with a strong pre-season and continued with his first goal, at Newport County last week.

The midfielder signed a new contract last December, which expires at the end of this season – although the U’s have a 12-month extension clause.

But head coach Karl Robinson has been delighted with Baptiste’s progress and wants to tie him down to a long-term deal.

He said: “We’re in the process of sitting down with Shandon and negotiating contracts.

“I think those who were at the game on Saturday will have seen an unbelievable performance.

“We have to tie him down for the long-term.”

Baptiste got the nod on Wearside partly down to a lack of available alternatives, with United unable to bring in an extra midfielder during the transfer window and missing Jamie Hanson through suspension.

Robinson admitted it had forced his hand, although the youngster had already caught his eye against Coventry City last month.

He said: “I saw something against Coventry.

“He was up against (Tom) Bayliss who has been talked about as a £4m or £5m player and Shandon was better on the day.”

Baptiste looks likely to face Coventry again on Sunday, despite being called up by the Grenada national side.

The midfielder last weekend said he was willing to turn it down to capitalise on this run in the U’s team, although a minor knee injury since then, which Robinson felt prevented him from flying, may have been the decisive factor.

Although he is likely to be fit to play on Sunday, it kept him out of the midweek win against Fulham Under 21s in the Checkatrade Trophy.

Fabio Lopes started the 3-0 win, which was rounded off by fellow 16-year-old Slavi Spasov.

Robinson said: “We’ve got to put ourselves in a stronger position to keep these players for a longer period.

“With the likes of Fabio, Shandon and Slavi, there are three or four players at this football club who I believe can really take us forward and be massive assets.”