West Ham United have recalled their teenage starlet Reece Oxford from Borussia Moenchengladbach in the middle of speculation linking him to Bundesliga club RB Leipzig. The 19-year-old has featured in 3 Bundesliga matches this season and is willing to continue with Moenchengladbach as they are targeting a top 4 finish in the top tier of German football. The club has already stated that they are in negotiations with the Hammers over a possible move for the young English centre-back. However, RB Leipzig has also joined in on the hunt for his services and are confident that they can land the defender for an initial €9m (£8m) deal, which could increase to €19m (£16.88m) depending upon his performances.
Leipzig has already tried to secure Reece’s signature in 2016 prior to his loan move to Borussia Moenchengladbach but they failed to agree on a fee with the East London club. West Ham are currently preparing themselves for a crunch match versus West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday. In a press conference on Friday, West Ham boss David Moyes decided to address the future regarding Reece Oxford and said:
“I don’t know Reece, I’ve never worked with him, so I’ll take the time to have a look at him.”
“I know he has been talked of very highly and I hope we can help him but it’ll take me a while to get to know what he does.”
West Ham made a terrible start to their Premier League campaign but has recently had a change in fortunes following the arrival of David Moyes at the helm. They are currently in 17th place in the league standings, just a point above the relegation zone. The Hammers’ backline has also conceded 31 goals in 20 league matches this season which is simply not good enough in their quest to avoid relegation at the end of the campaign.
Moyes is expected to bring in defensive reinforcements in January but he could still opt to keep Oxford and try to give him a chance in the first-team. However, it may prove to be a big gamble as he’s still a young player who doesn’t have any experience in a relegation dogfight. Having said that, he will fearless in face of adversity and a real asset for the Hammers for years to come, if they decide to show faith in his abilities.
It remains to be seen what lies ahead in the future of Reece Oxford with increasing interest from some of Germany’s top clubs sure to keep the Hammers in check.
