West Ham Prospect Struggling to Fulfil His Potential 3 Years After Breakthrough Season
It's only a few years since Reece Oxford was being tipped as a future West Ham legend, but three seasons on from his senior debut the youngster's potential remains very much unfulfilled.
When you think back to Oxford keeping Mesut Ozil and co. quiet on his Hammers debut against Arsenal in 2015, it seems unthinkable that he has only made six more Premier League appearances since then.
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Oxford has since spent time on loan in the Championship and the Bundesliga but he's back at the London Stadium now and trying to force his way into Manuel Pellegrini's team.
He has captained West Ham's Under-23 team in Premier League 2 this season and has scored a couple of goals, but his appearance in the EFL Trophy against Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night didn't go to plan.
HITC reports that he gave the ball away in the build-up to Alex Jakubiak's goal in the 57th minute, before Tom Lockyer added a second ten minutes from time to condemn the young Hammers to a 2-0 defeat.
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There may be hope for Oxford if he picks up his form this season, with Pellegrini having shown that he not averse to selecting young players by giving Declan Rice a chance in midfield.
However, with Rice, Issa Diop, Winston Reid, Fabian Balbuena and Angelo Ogbonna all ahead of Oxford in the pecking order, he may find that the competition is too strong.
