Oxford suggests he wants to return to England after leaving West Ham

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Reece Oxford was sold by West Ham during Manuel Pellegrini’s reign, to Augsburg in August 2019.

Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho have moved from these shores to the Bundesliga and become England internationals while doing that.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Oxford said that is his aim too and said he wants to return home to England at some point in his career.

“The next step is me being called up for England and we will see in the future what happens,” said Oxford.

“I am from England and I do want to come home. I am not going to spend my whole career out here.

“I just wanted to get the recognition. People would say ‘Yeah, he’s a good player but he’s not playing enough’.

“I can say ‘Well, I have played this amount of games [73 Bundesliga] so you can’t say that anymore’. It’s kind of a weight off my shoulders in that sense.”

England are not flush with central defenders, although Fikayo Tomori is another Three Lions option playing abroad who has not been included by Gareth Southgate.

Perhaps that hints at the fact that Oxford may have to come back to England to get into the senior squad, but as mentioned, it did not hold Bellingham or Sancho back.

Oxford is still only 23, with plenty of football left in him and the likes of Conor Coady and Tyrone Mings will not be in his way at international level forever.

As for a return to England, it seems a matter of time if he keeps playing well, so it is something to keep an eye on. West Ham could do with more options at centre-back…