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What Has happened To West Ham’s Reece Oxford?

nevillenixon's picture
Submitted by nevillenixon on Fri, 01/03/2019 - 11:12


When West Ham defender Reece Oxford debuted for the club at the age of 16, big things were expected from him. However, subsequent loans have sent Oxford to three different clubs including Reading, Borussia Monchengladbach, and Augsburg. Whether its Premier League or Bundesliga football, fans can use the William Hill promo code on the weekend games, to back their favourite teams to win.
The centre-back has featured in just 802 minutes for the Hammers in his career, but he has played far less for his other clubs. Oxford recently endured a horrific match with his on-loan club Augsburg. The German side were thrashed 5-1 with Oxford being given a red card.
Augsburg are mired in a Bundesliga relegation fight and Oxford is in the thick of it. Now 20-years old, West Ham are not missing the former teen sensation and there are expectations that Oxford won’t be back in the Hammers first-team next term.
Reece Oxford – Hero to Zero

Oxford was loaned to Borussia Monchengladbach for the 2017-18 season. The Bundesliga club, like others in the German top-flight, was eager to bring over a young English player. Although Oxford didn’t make his Gladbach debut until late October, he impressed greatly when he broke into the team’s starting XI.
The centre-back's play and development were so impressive that Monchengladbach began talking to West Ham about a permanent transfer. The discussions influenced West Ham to end the loan and bring the defender back to East London. Due to his success in German, Oxford was expected to get a shot with West Ham’s first-team.
But West Ham were fighting relegation and David Moyes had no intention of handing the 20-year-old a significant role. Oxford wasn’t helped by an ankle injury following his return and he played just four minutes under Moyes. West Ham shipped him back to ‘Gladbach just one month after being re-called.
Back at Borussia Park, Oxford was in the team throughout February and early March until a torn muscle limited him to one more appearance for Monchengladbach.
Reece Oxford – A Season to Forget

The 2018-19 season started with plenty of hope, but so far, has ultimately turned sour. Oxford spent much of the season’s first half playing for West Ham’s Premier League 2 squad. He did feature in two Carabao Cup matches, but in January, West Ham sent him back to Germany.
Borussia Monchengladbach passed on him with the team fighting for a top four place in the Bundesliga. A move to relegation fighters Augsburg came to fruition. Until his red card against Freiburg, Oxford had played in four straight games.
Although Oxford’s red card was reported on negatively by the English media, it did come in second half stoppage-time. Sure, that lessens the fact the defender was sent off. However, it doesn’t take away from the five goals he and his teammates shipped.
Reece Oxford – Peaked too Soon?

There is every reason to believe Oxford peaked way too soon. He was ushered into the West Ham first-team at 16 and expectations were then placed upon his shoulders to become a top-notch player.
The move may have led Oxford to believe he had already made it as a professional, harming further development. At 18, he signed a contract worth £20,000-a-week – or £1.04m a year. Few teens make that kind of money and it could be a factor in his career trajectory.
Can Oxford recover? Yes, absolutely, but there is a long list of teen sensations that were out of the professional game after burning brightly only to fizzle out.

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Comments

For giving us proper reporting on oxfords progress...still hard to figure out though has he been overhyped or is he part of westhams future?? Answers on a postcard!!

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andycarrollstyle's picture

I think he'd be best off dropping down to the championship and playing a couple of seasons - learn how to fight for resilts on the pitch again and give his ego a check.

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