Following West Ham’s impressive opening day win against Arsenal, everyone in the English footballing world realized what an incredible talent Reece Oxford is.
In the opener at the Emirates, Oxford made his debut at the age of 16. This was a massive shock to almost everyone surrounding the Premier League and was seen as a huge risk taken by Slaven Bilic. Heads were turned when West Ham’s youngest ever Premier League player completed a very tidy performance and did not look phased by the class Arsenal had on show. As a man of the match contender, everyone was looking at his excellent temperament, of which he again later proved in the post-match interview.
This performance showed everyone the potential that Reece Oxford shows. At the age of 16 he is already putting in great performances against a team challenging for the title, and looking calm and collected throughout. The promise he shows, excites everyone around West Ham, and forces them to think of him as a future star, however if the young Englishman is to fulfill his potential, he must be managed properly by Bilic and everyone at West Ham, and to do this the staff must ensure they are able to keep Oxford grounded at all times. The worst possible thing would be for the youngster to get too ahead of himself and jeopardize his future. They must handle the player on and off the pitch, by not only helping him technically, but also teaching him how to handle interviews, and the press in general. This is so the player is able to portray himself in the best possible light and never give any opposition a reason to target him.
As the player is still very young, the media could play a massive part in his development, and it is integral that football is always his main focus. As time goes on, if more excellent performances follow, money is bound to be used to try and tempt the player away from Upton Park. This is why the people at West Ham must be able to ensure Oxford is always focused on playing football and growing as a player, playing matches must be his main focus. Bilic, Dicks, and all the staff must nurture the player perfectly in order to avoid the risk of slowing or hindering his development.
But if we do nurture and manage Oxford correctly, his future is very bright. As a center back who is also able to play comfortably in midfield, with the confidence to make forward runs and talk to other players around him. No matter who they are. He looks as though he could feature in not only West Hams future but also England’s, as the player is already the England U-17 captain. His versatility and leadership qualities will make him very desirable, so it must be a priority to keep him at the Boleyn Ground and ensure that this is where he will be happy.
