OPINION
West Ham’s Reece Oxford has had quite the fall from grace in east London.
Once touted as the next best thing to come out of the Hammers’ academy, which of course has a proud tradition of producing exciting young talents throughout the generations, the 20-year-old has had a frustrating couple of years trying to make the grade as a first team talent.
The last of his 17 senior appearances for the club came back in January 2018, with a loan spell at Borussia Mochengladbach last season followed by a move to Augsburg during the current campaign – German sides clearly seeing something in him.
With claims of the youngster having attitude problems, it seems as though the versatile enforcer has failed to step up as the Hammers would have wanted and it appears his time at the club is set to come to an end this summer.
Sky Sports claim on their website that the 20-year-old is negotiating terms over a move to Augsburg on a permanent deal and that talks are set to lead to a move worth £8million for his sale.
Now, if Oxford had been tearing the Bundesliga up with his performances, that sort of price tag would be understandable but with just seven appearances since January, totalling 53 minutes in the club’s last eight games, it is an awful lot for someone yet to make the grade.
Simply put, West Ham have worked some serious magic to get such a hefty fee for someone without the proven ability in either the German or English top flight – and that money could go a long way to getting some fresh talent through the door.
A decent deal for the Irons – Oxford is unlikely to be much of a miss.