OXFORD’S UP FOR BIG TEST
REECE OXFORD created history at West Ham and drew comparisons with Rio Ferdinand.
He then fell off the radar as quickly as he appeared on it.
The club’s youngestever player then decided the grass was greener, opting to join the English talent-drain to Germany.
Oxford, now 22 – who made his first-team debut for the Hammers back in the summer of 2015 – pitched up in Augsburg, fighting a battle to stay in the Bundesliga, after a loan stint at Borussia Monchengladbach.
Oxford said: “It’s difficult in England. You can’t expect to play all the time when you’re a young player.
“There’s so much money that if you’re not playing up to the standards, the club will just go and buy someone new.
“There’s a lot of pressure on young players. It’s difficult to take it all on your shoulders.
“It was pressure for me with everyone saying they believed I’d be the next Rio.
“And for maybe a year I didn’t deal with everything so well, so that’s why I came to Germany, to get my head in a straight line and focus.
“Here, they believe in young players – a few years out here will do me good.”
West Ham have always prided themselves on giving youngsters a chance – Ferdinand was one of them – and Declan Rice (above) is another who has benefited from being plunged in at the deep end at a young age.
But Oxford found it difficult to force his way back into the first team. After an unsuccessful spell on loan at Reading he was farmed out to Monchengladbach.
Asked if the breakthrough came too soon, he added: “I wouldn’t say it did. I was doing everything right.
“I was captain of the second team at West Ham at 15 and all older firstteam players who weren’t involved dropped into it.
“I felt I earned the start and I earned the right to be the club’s youngest player. To deal with it, there are little things people forget.
“You’re missing out on all the things that players of your age are doing.
“For example, the firstteam aren’t doing the same gym programmes that you are.
“I was picking up little injuries here and there because I was training every day with men. My muscles weren’t prepared for everything.
“There were a few setbacks. I wasn’t going to force my way through or cause problems, so I felt the best option for me was to go somewhere else.
“I felt like Germany was the right place because I liked the training, the mentality and the culture. I felt like this was a step forward for me.
“It wasn’t an easy decision because I was by myself, I was 18-years-old and I had to adapt to a different language and live by myself and everything was hard.
“I don’t regret it.” ■■Watch multiple live matches from the Bundesliga every week, exclusively live on BT Sport. For more info go to bt.com/sport