FORMER Motherwell midfielder Chris Cadden insists he will get the "best of both worlds" by starring for Oxford United – before chasing his American dream with Columbus Crew.

Cadden, 22, joined the MLS outfit earlier this week after his Motherwell contract expired; however, he was immediately loaned out to Oxford and will spend the first half of the season with the League One outfit before linking up with Columbus at the start of 2020.

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Cadden has been training with the U’s for the past fortnight – making his debut in Wednesday night’s 1-1 friendly draw against Fulham – and the English outfit had hoped to seal a permanent move for the Scotland internationalist, but the lure of MLS proved too strong.

Cadden said: “America is a great opportunity for me and it will be good to see a different country, because I’ve never played outside Scotland.

“But Oxford gave me a chance to play in England, which I wanted to grab with both hands. It’s a real honour for me to play for this club and it’s the best of both worlds.”

Oxford boss Karl Robinson added: “I really like powerful full-backs who get forward. Chris has an unbelievable engine.”

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Motherwell believe they are owed around £200,000 in compensation following Cadden’s transfer to Crew – more than £100,000 less than they would have received if he had gone straight to Oxford.

He made 139 appearances for the Steelmen and was on their books from the age of 10.