West Ham United once had very high hopes for defender Reece Oxford – and he now seems to be realising his potential with Augsburg.
Cast your mind back to 2015. West Ham were opening the season with a tricky away trip to Arsenal.
Slaven Bilic was taking charge of West Ham for the first time and new signings like Dimitri Payet and Angelo Ogbonna were on show.
West Ham produced a superb display to beat Arsenal 2-0, but it was Oxford who stole the show with a superb display.
Oxford was deployed in a holding midfield role on that day, producing a display far beyond his years.
Aged just 16, Oxford dominated in an outstanding West Ham victory that left many excited about his future.
Some were predicting hundreds of West Ham appearances and many England caps for Oxford having turned in such a stunning performance.
Sadly, that’s as good as it got for Oxford.
Replicating that display proved to be tricky for Oxford, and he only made seven more Premier League appearances for West Ham.
After loan spells with Reading and Borussia Monchengladbach, Oxford joined up with Augsburg on loan in 2018.
West Ham sold Oxford to Augsburg for just £2.1million a year later and, now 23, he is shining as a centre back in the Bundesliga.
On Sunday, Oxford started and played the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 Augsburg win over Bochum.
Andre Hahn and Michael Gregoritsch may have been on the scoresheet but it was Oxford who earned the biggest praise.
Augsburg tweeted that Oxford was man of the match in that win over Bochum, claiming it was ‘another masterclass’ from the Englishman.
We know all about Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham thriving in Germany, but it looks Oxford is back on track there too.
Maybe one day, Oxford will return to the Premier League and face off against West Ham down the line.
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