Reece Burke future in limbo as Slaven Bilic calls on youngsters to prove their worth in pre-season

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Highly-rated young West Ham United defender Reece Burke does not know where his immediate future lies.

Centre-back Burke looked set for another loan move to Bolton Wanderers having previously played under their manager Phil Parkinson while on loan at Bradford City.

It was during his time at Valley Parade where Burke really established himself as a player who could potentially graduate from the Hammers’ famous Academy to the first team as he where he won no less than seven awards, including player of the year.

However, Slaven Bilic – who was criticised by supporters last season for failing to bring through any of the club’s promising young players – has put a block on Burke leaving on loan for the time being.

West Ham United’s Reece Burke during training

And while the 20-year-old welcomes the prospect of being back in the mix at West Ham, he admitted in an interview with the club’s official site he does not know what the immediate future holds.

“I’m buzzing to be here, I was going to go on loan, but that has been put on hold as the manager has told me he wants me to do pre-season here with the first team, so it’s a good opportunity for me to get back in with the lads, as I’ve been away for a while now,” Burke told whufc.com.

“I spoke with the gaffer and he wants me to stay here, so it’s a good opportunity for me to work hard and show him what I’ve got, because obviously I haven’t seen him for a while.

“I need to stay fit and have a good pre-season here, that’s my target.

“My ambition is to play in the Premier League and to do that you have to go on loan and get experience and, if I have to do that to develop, that’s what I’ll do.”

Burke’s comments come after a well-placed West Ham source on Twitter ExWHUEmployee revealed the club is using pre-season to give their exciting crop of youngsters the chance to impress and prove their worth to the first team.

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic

Should they fail to do that they will be sent out on loan.

The likes of Josh Cullen, Martin Samuelsen, Marcus Browne, Toni Martinez, Declan Rice and Domingos Quina are all in the same boat as Burke and could follow in Reece Oxford’s footsteps after he was sent on loan to Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach for the season.