Gladbach Will Help Oxford To Get The Best Out Of His Huge Talent

The loan surprised many but a spell in the Bundesliga can only help Reece’s game

 

- James Jones

Like many before him, Reece Oxford’s reputation has rapidly gone from England’s most exciting young talent to yet another youngster struggling for regular first team opportunities in the Premier League.

His debut against Arsenal, in which he had Mesut Ozil in his pocket for much of the game, seemed to herald a new era for West Ham’s famed Academy of Football.

So many years had passed since we could honestly boast of a world class talent coming through our ranks and becoming a star, and Oxford took the country by surprise just as much as did West Ham fans.

Two years on from his Emirates masterclass, though, Oxford can only boast six more first team appearances for West Ham and a failed loan spell at Reading. Now he is beginning a season-long loan with Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach.

Having signed a new four-year contract at the club last December, to ward off interest from the likes of Arsenal, Man United and Chelsea, we all believed his time had finally come. Instead, his most recent move away just confuses us further.

The way Slaven Bilic threw him in to the deep end and then carefully protected him from the limelight was seen as wonderful man management at the time, but now we’re all wondering why Bilic doesn’t think he’s good enough for a first-team spot any longer.

What has he seen that we haven’t, or is his judgement not as good as we initially believed?