Blackpool man spotted watching Seasiders play-off rivals- here’s what Neil Critchley said about his absence.

The wing-back was seen watching Oxford United’s 2-2 draw with Portsmouth on Tuesday night, as the Seasiders were winning the EFL Trophy on penalties and moving on to the semi-finals.

The 25-year-old moved from Crewe Alexandra to Bloomfield Road back in 2022, but it looks like he may be leaving Tangerine as the Kassam Stadium is likely to be his next stop.

BBC Radio Oxford Sport posted a picture of the Seasiders guy and said, “Owen Dale in the crowd for Oxford Utd’s 2-2 draw against Portsmouth.” When asked about Dale joining the U’s, #oufc boss Des Buckingham responded, “There’s probably some more news in the next 24 hours.”

The past two times Blackpool has played, Dale has not been selected; Hayden Coulson and Andy Lyons were selected ahead of Dale. Dominic Thompson departed the Seasiders this month on loan to Forest Green Rovers as a result of competition for the left wing-back position.

Regarding the ex-Railwaymen academy product’s absence, Seasiders manager Neil Critchley stated, “I can only pick 16 outfield players.” The team versus Bolton had a lot of players absent, so I assume Saturday’s matchup against Stevenage will be different.

“I won’t talk about specific players and their future plans; if I did, I’d be here all day talking about players who have been linked to us in recent days—some of whom are real, some of whom aren’t.