The 12th Man assisted Oxford United's transfer business once more today when they secured the services of Aldershot striker, John Grant.

Grant joins the U’s on loan until the end of the season with a view to the deal being made permanent in the summer. He becomes the fifth player to have been signed this season with the help of the 12th Man fund, following Jamie Cook, Onome Sodje, Anthony Tonkin and Ashley Cain.

John, born in Manchester, is a lethal striker whose scoring ratio for Aldershot is quite remarkable, having bagged 57 goals in 150 appearances. He signed as a pro for Crewe Alexandra in July 1999 and made his debut against Crystal Palace. He was later loaned to Hyde United, Rushden and Diamonds and Northwich Victoria before signing for Hereford United in June 2002.

He went on to play for Shewsbury Town in July 2004 but soon after made the move to Chris Wilder's Halifax Town. He was a regular in the Shay side's march up the Conference and scored in their defeat by (his former club) Hereford United in the 2006 Conference (National) Play-Off Final. He finished the 2005-06 season as the club's top scorer with 14 goals.

In July 2006, he made the move to Aldershot Town and scored twice on his debut. The season ended with John being top scorer (23 goals) and voted 'Player of the Year'. He also made his England 'C' debut against the Republic of Ireland in May 2007 and was in the squad that won that year's Four Nations Tournament. In February 2008, he committed himself to Aldershot on a contract until the end of the 2009-10 season.

He ended the 2007-08 season as top-scorer (25 goals) as the Shots won the Setanta Shield and were crowned Blue Square Premier champions. Subsequently, Grant was named in the Blue Square Premier 'Team of the Year'.

Speaking on behalf of 12th Man, Simon Bradbury said "We are delighted that the 12th Man has been able to make a further contribution to Oxford United's Promotion Push, with the capture of a prolific striker such as John.

The 12th Man has been a phenomenal success this season and goes from strength to strength. The fans deserve huge credit for raising over £25,000 so far, and we hope this latest signing will excite everyone who has generously donated to the fund. To sign quality players like Tonkin, Cook and Grant is down to the hard work of Kelvin Thomas, Chris Wilder and every supporters.

We wish John every success for the remainder of the season, one which we hope will see us return to the Football League"