Why On Earth Would West Ham Put A Price On Reece Oxford?

Lazy journalism is alive and well particularly in the form of the Sunday red tops, So the rumour that West Ham have put an £18 Million price tag on his head has surfaced and resurfaced more times than a motorway! Both of the Manchester clubs have supposedly been camped outside Oxford's parental home offering a king's ransom in wages and prepared to pay virtually any fee to prise the player away! What a load of twaddle, yes there is interest in Reece Oxford and why shouldn't there be? He is a young England International who burst on the scene with an incredibly mature debut in West Ham's 2 - 0 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on the opening day of the 2015/6 Barclays Premier League season, Slaven Billic was obviously over joyed with Oxford's quality and potential, but it was plainly obvious from the get go that it was Billic's intention to cosset and protect the youngster to avoid burn out and over exposure, exactly the sort of press hyperbole that is gaining ground at the moment!
The £18 Million figure being banded around as the 'price is right' supposedly set by West Ham is both amusing and insulting, why sell one of your brightest young prospects? Having seen a generation of talent pass through the famous academy and then get sold on for a fraction of their real value, co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold will not countenance losing 'one of their own' to the usual list of cash rich rivals who in the past have been able to walk rough shod over the club in financial situations.
We would suggest that the figure being quoted either ( a ) doesn't exist or ( b ) is less than half of what the club would be willing to accept anyway .........
Expect Reece Oxford to be in the starting line up for this thursday's Europa League match. - Ed