Midfielder Dannie Bulman will not be returning to Oxford United, it has been confirmed.

Blue Square Premier high-fliers Crawley Town have agreed to sign the 31-year-old on a free transfer in January.

Bulman, who has been on loan at the Sussex club since September, will sign a contract keeping him there until the end of the 2011-12 season.

United manager Chris Wilder hinted in October that the former Wycombe player was unlikely to return to Oxford, saying he was concentrating on the players he had, rather than those who had been sent out on loan.

Bulman, who joined Oxford United in 2009, made 47 appearances for the U’s and his popularity in the dressing room was recognised when he won the players’ player of the year award last season.