Bharath Rammr
West Ham are increasingly confident that their teenage sensation Reece Oxford will sign a new contract to end any interest from Manchester United and Manchester City. The two Manchester clubs are reportedly very keen on signing the 17-year-old, who is the latest sensation from the West Ham youth academy. West Ham have a strong tradition of developing English talent with the likes of Jermain Defoe, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand, and Frank Lampard a testament to their success over the years.
In recent years, though, the British talent at West Ham’s academy have not been able to reach the very top level. This may change with Oxford, who may be only 17 but he is already attracting the attention of United and City.
The 17-year-old is a central defender but he can also play in the defensive midfield when required. His contract runs until the summer of 2019, but West Ham have been in negotiations with the player for several months. The Sun reports that an agreement is close and that the player is expected to sign a new five-year contract within the next 10 days. Either it would confirm his presence at West Ham for the next few years or jack up his price quite dramatically.
Oxford is valued at about €4 million despite being yet to hit 18. Arsenal have also been keeping tabs on the situation, although it was always highly unlikely that West Ham would sell to one of the London rivals.
Even though there was no immediate prospect of losing the player on a free transfer, West Ham were concerned with the growing interest surrounding the player.
United have shown a tendency to go for ready-made signings in recent transfer windows. Even though they have been linked with young talent, it has not been as serious as the interest in Oxford. The club’s recent acquisition of Eric Bailly has been extremely successful, but other central defenders of the club do not seem to fit into the requirements of Jose Mourinho. He recently came out with public criticism of Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling.
Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo have been the centre back pairing in the absence of Bailly and Smalling.
Even though a signing like Oxford will not be for the first team immediately, he would represent a major investment for the future. Oxford has already made seven appearances in the first team. He is highly unlikely to get the same number of opportunities if he decides to join a top club like City or United. At both these clubs, an initial loan deal may be the order of the day.
At national team level, Oxford is only playing with the England under 20 team having made his debut recently.
