David Moyes has said West Ham United must not sell their best academy players after recalling Reece Oxford from his loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
RB Leipzig and Mönchengladbach made attempts to sign the 19‑year‑old on Thursday. West Ham responded by cancelling the defender’s season-long loan after a day of deliberation and Moyes, who felt Oxford was not playing enough for the Bundesliga club, has told him he will be given an opportunity to impress in training.
“What I’m not keen on is selling my best young players,” Moyes said. “Wherever I’ve been you keep your best young players. 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. Reece played the last three games and, if he hadn’t, you’d be asking what he’s doing out there if he’s not getting any football.
“He wasn’t playing regularly enough. He’s just really got into the team the last couple of games and I don’t think there’s any guarantee he would go back in the team. There was a little to do with injuries. My feeling was that you wouldn’t want to sell your best young players.”
Oxford made three appearances for Gladbach and it is understood he was open to the idea of joining either them or Leipzig. Hailed as the next Rio Ferdinand, he became West Ham’s youngest player after making his debut at the age of 16 years and 198 days in the summer of 2015 and impressed against Arsenal on his first Premier League start.
However, Oxford, who signed a four-and-half-year contract last year, has not pushed on since then and questions have been raised about his attitude. Opinions are mixed at West Ham yet he is still highly regarded by many at the club and his ability to play in defence or midfield appeals to Moyes, who expects the youngster to start training tomorrow.
“We’ll have a look at him,” Moyes said. “A lot of people have spoken really well about him, so we’ll see how he does over the coming months.”
Moyes challenged Oxford to knuckle down after being offered a fresh start. “I gave a lot of people at 16 their debut. They can go in the team and say it’s great but they’re the ones who have to decide how to improve themselves. 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.”