Futcher began his career as a trainee with Oldham Athletic

Oxford United have signed Bury defender Ben Futcher and Plymouth Argyle striker Steven MacLean on loan deals.

Futcher, 29, will stay at the Kassam Stadium until January, while 28-year-old Maclean joins for a month.

Futcher told BBC Oxford: "I'm delighted to be here. Hopefully I'll do well enough to make it hard for Oxford to send me back.

"You aren't guaranteed first-team football wherever you go. I know I need to work hard to get into the team."

MacLean said: "I'm really looking forward to it. It's a good club with great support and I'm looking forward to working with the manager. Hopefully I can come up and do well for the club."

Futcher had made 128 appearances for Bury since moving to Gigg Lane from Peterborough in June 2007, but has been restricted to just five games for the Shakers this season.

Former Sheffield Wednesday man MacLean joined Plymouth from Cardiff for £500,000 in January 2008 and has made 54 appearances for Argyle, scoring six goals.

However, he has played just nine games this season, scoring once.

The duo take the new number of loan signings at the Kassam Stadium this week to three, following the arrival of Southampton midfielder Paul Wotton on Monday.

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