Should Reece Oxford move to Manchester United or stay at West Ham?

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17-year-old Reece Oxford; the highly rated teenager who has just enjoyed a breakthrough season at West Ham, is the subject of interest for Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho. The ‘Special One’ is known for conducting his transfer business early, as seen by the three signings he has already completed this summer, and he is now interested in Reece Oxford.

One of the reasons for this could well be Oxford’s versatility. He is most commonly recognised as a centre-half but he has also been a midfielder. The youngster rose to prominence in West Ham’s starting XI when he put in a brilliant performance in their victory over Arsenal on the opening day of last season.

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In doing so, he became West Ham’s youngest-ever Premier League player at the age of 16 years and 237 days, and incredibly for one in such a situation, was awarded with Man of the Match. Oxford was not fazed by the big names on the opposing side and contained the threat of Özil and Cazorla very well.

Manchester United are apparently willing to pay £10 million for the defender, which is generous considering that Oxford only made 12 appearances in all competitions last term. A big-money move could be just what the England player needs to really kick start his career after last season, but transfers of this stature do not work out for everyone.

In the blue half of Manchester is Raheem Sterling, the winger with bags of potential, who engineered a move to City from Liverpool in last summer’s transfer window for £49 million. This made him the second most expensive British footballer of all time. Since, Sterling has struggled to perform since his move and cannot shake the huge price tag that has been placed on his shoulders, culminating in a fairly abysmal showing with England at Euro 2016. There is no reason that West Ham’s Young Hammer of the Year, Reece Oxford, would suffer the same fate, but it is worth remembering.

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West Ham clearly want to keep Oxford and if he wants to stay, they should extend his current contract and end the speculation, just like Man United have done with Marcus Rashford. Rumour and rejected transfer bids can be just as damaging to a young players’ career as a big move.

Just look at Saido Berahino. The West Brom hit-man was desperate to leave for Spurs last summer and when it failed to materialise, he vowed never to play for Jeremy Peace again. Obviously this made matters worse and even though Berahino has played for The Baggues since then, it is clear that his love for the club is gone.

He missed two penalties in their Premier League match against Watford in April, becoming only the fourth player to do so. It is a great shame to see a Berahino’s career at such a slump when he is only 22 and it would be even more of a shame if the same thing or something similar happened to Oxford.

The major thing that Oxford, Sterling and Berahino all have in common is that they play their international football for England. Players from these shores are built up as the next superstars, and it certainly seems that they cannot handle the pressure when things go wrong.

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Oxford; who has two years remaining on his current contract, will be playing at the Olympic Stadium next season, and thanks to Man United’s FA Cup win, the Hammers will be in the Europa League again. While he could easily stay and establish himself at West Ham, the Old Trafford outfit have been admiring Reece Oxford for a while and as long as the price is right, West Ham could be forced to sell one of England’s best young talents.

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