Could West Ham’s teenage pair go on to become one of Premier League’s best partnerships in future?

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West Ham United could surely put together a centre-back pairing that has the potential to be one of the Premier League’s best in future years.

There is no question that West Ham’s academy is threatening to produce a very special group of players right now, with a number of talented starlets pushing for more involvement in the first-team.

Perhaps the one player who has impressed the most in recent times is defender Declan Rice, who arguably displayed just how much potential he possesses at the weekend when the Hammers travelled to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City.

The result looked to be a banker before the game, and the City forwards would have been forgiven for allowing their confidence to grow just that little bit more when they saw the 18-year-old included in the starting lineup.

But Rice acquitted himself incredibly well, and the signs suggest that he could be a definite star of the future for the Irons and one of the first names on the teamsheet in the coming years.

So perhaps it would now be fair to suggest that West Ham could potentially have one of the most exciting partnerships on their hands in a few years’ time if they pair Rice with another teenager who has previously stolen many headlines during his brief West Ham career.

Reece Oxford may currently be on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach, but he showed during his previous appearances that his potential could be endless – he, of course, famously kept Mesut Ozil quiet on his Premier League debut when he was just 16 and playing in holding midfield rather than his favoured position of centre-back.

Now 18, Oxford should be looking to follow in Rice’s footsteps when he returns from the Bundesliga at the end of the season and making an impact in the Hammers first-team.

And if Oxford and Rice continue to build upon the promise that they have shown during their careers so far, it would appear that West Ham may have the ability to put together one of the most exciting partnerships the club have been able to enjoy for a long time.