Done deal: Defender signs as West Ham agree terms
By Matt Farr
Borussia Monchengladbach have completed the signing of West Ham defender Reece Oxford, it has been confirmed.
West Ham announced the completed deal on their official club website and Twitter account on Wednesday, where it was revealed that the youngster will join the German club on a season-long loan deal.
The 18-year-old made his first-team breakthrough at the age of just 16 in a Europa League clash with FC Lusitans during the 2015-16 season, before playing a starring role at the start of their Premier League campaign.
He made 14 senior appearances over the course of the season, but struggled to earn regular opportunities in the side last term.
The versatile defender, who can also play as a defensive-midfielder, earned just two appearances for West Ham throughout the first-half of the campaign, which came in their Europa League qualifiers back in August.
His lack of regular action saw West Ham offload him to Championship outfit Reading until the end of the season, but he continued to be starved of opportunities, making just two starts from his five appearances at the Madejski.
However, West Ham have granted the highly-rated youngster another loan move to kickstart his stuttering development, and he will join up with German Bundesliga outfit Gladbach for the new season.
Football Insider verdict
A loan move for Oxford will be perfect for both parties (West Ham and Oxford) so long as he is granted regular first-team football. Gladbach have a vacancy to fill in the centre of defence after Andreas Christiansen returned to Chelsea at the end of his loan spell, and Oxford has an opportunity to earn himself a key role in the side. It came as a surprise that he was used only rarely by Reading last season, because he has considerable talent, and hopefully his latest loan spell can grant him the platform to develop as expected. He is also no worse than some of his current West Ham team-mates, who struggled last season in their defensive duties, and fans will be disappointed to see him leave this summer.
In other West Ham transfer news, the club have been handed an emphatic decision in their reported pursuit of this £8million goalscorer.
We’ve launched a << BREAKING NEWS FEED>> exclusively for your club. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all West Ham breaking news.