OPINION
West Ham defender Reece Oxford is ready to take a huge risk with his footballing career based on Sky Sports’ report on his stance regarding an exit from the London Stadium.
According to the broadcaster’s live transfer blog (Wednesday, January 30th, 14:52) Sky Sports News have been told that Oxford is intent of running down his contract until it expires in 2021 because of politics surround him and due to the way he has been portrayed.
Sky Sports’ add in the same report that the Hammers have turned down a loan request from Dutch side Heerenveen and that implies that the player is set to stay at the club beyond the current window at the very least.
If that is the case and Sky Sports are spot-on about Oxford’s reported stance on his exit, then player is surely throwing his career down the drain.
The 20-year-old centre-back who once looked to be a bright hope at the Hammers after he burst into their first-team a few seasons ago, is clearly not going to feature anytime soon for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
The Hammers aren’t drowning in central defenders especially after an injury to Fabian Balbuena and yet Oxford still hasn’t appeared for the senior side this season.
The 20-year-old instead has been featuring for the Hammers’ U-23 side and has been cruising in 13 appearances in the Premier League 2, shown by the fact he has also contributed three goals.
Despite the Hammers having space for him in their first-team as well as his fantastic form for the U-23’s, the fact he hasn’t appeared for the senior side shows that a chance is not on the cards for him anytime soon.
This means the only chance of Oxford getting regular football is to leave as soon as possible but if he does really wait until 2021 to leave, then he will be so forgotten that he won’t have many suitors waiting for him.
The 20-year-old can’t progress or develop in the way that he is meant to playing U-23s football and he might not be worth a player signing by time his deal ends.
Therefore if Sky’s report is anywhere close to the truth then it seems Oxford who once looked like having a bright future, is destined to throw all his potential away.