West Ham boss David Moyes insists he does not like selling his best young players as he looks at Reece Oxford... but 'at times the money is too big'

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David Moyes has likened Reece Oxford’s situation to Wayne Rooney’s in 2004, insisting he does not like to sell his best young players but that there is always a price.

Moyes was Everton manager when Rooney, then an 18-year-old striker, signed for Manchester United in a £27million move.

Now in charge of West Ham, Moyes met Oxford for the first time at their Rush Green training ground on Friday after cancelling the 19-year-old’s loan at Borussia Monchengladbach.

 19-year-old Oxford has been linked with moves to Borussia Monchengladbach and RB Leipzig

David Moyes met Oxford for the first time at their Rush Green training ground on Friday

Oxford has been linked with multi-million-pound moves to Monchengladbach and fellow Bundesliga club RB Leipzig but Moyes wants to take a closer look at the talented teenager himself.

The Scot said he is reluctant to let Oxford leave unless the right money is offered – as it was for Rooney more than a decade ago.

‘We’ve got him back, we’ll have a look at him,’ said Moyes. ‘A lot of people have spoken really well about him, so we’ll see how he does over the coming months.

‘I gave a lot of people at 16 their debut. What they have to do then is develop themselves. They are the ones who have to decide how to improve themselves.

His West Ham first-team debut was in 2015 and he became the club’s youngest-ever player

‘I use the word “self-development”. The coaches are here to help him try to develop his game, but then there comes a part of it where you have to do it yourself.

‘When Wayne Rooney got in when he was 16, did he need coaching? No, but he needed experience, he needed pushing in the right direction.

‘What I’m not keen on is selling my best young players. Wherever I’ve been you keep your best young players.

David Moyes has likened Reece Oxford’s situation to Wayne Rooney’s back in 2004

‘Obviously people came for Wayne Rooney. Did I want to sell Wayne Rooney? No, but at times there are situations where the money is too big.’

England Under-20 international Oxford’s West Ham first-team debut was in 2015 when, at the age of 16 years and 198 days, he became the club’s youngest-ever player.

He will join the first team for training on Sunday ahead of their Premier League game against Alan Pardew’s West Brom on Tuesday night.