Reece Oxford

Last updated

Reece Oxford
Reece Oxford West Ham August 2014.jpg
Oxford warming up for West Ham United in 2014
Personal information
Full name Reece Joel Oxford [1]
Date of birth (1998-12-16) 16 December 1998 (age 25) [2]
Place of birth Edmonton, London, England
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) [3]
Position(s) Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
FC Augsburg
Number 4
Youth career
0000–2011 Tottenham Hotspur [4]
2011–2014 West Ham United
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2014–2019 West Ham United 8 (0)
2017Reading (loan) 5 (0)
2017Borussia Mönchengladbach (loan) 3 (0)
2018Borussia Mönchengladbach (loan) 4 (0)
2019FC Augsburg (loan) 8 (0)
2019– FC Augsburg 69 (2)
2023 FC Augsburg II 1 (0)
International career
2013 England U16 3 (0)
2014–2015 England U17 18 (1)
2016 England U18 2 (0)
2015–2017 England U19 7 (0)
2016–2017 England U20 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:46, 22 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 March 2018 (UTC)

Reece Joel Oxford (born 16 December 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club FC Augsburg. Oxford made his debut for West Ham United aged 16 years and 198 days, making him the club's youngest ever player, beating a record of 16 years and 221 days set in 1922 by Billy Williams. [5] [6]

Contents

Club career

West Ham United

Oxford was born in Edmonton, London, [7] and was a boyhood supporter of Arsenal. [8] He began playing football at Tottenham Hotspur's academy but was released from the club in 2011. He then joined West Ham United at under-13 level. [9] [4] He turned out for the under-18 team while still an under-15 schoolboy, and made the bench for a League Cup match in August 2014, still aged 15. [10]

On 11 January 2015, Oxford signed a long-term professional contract with West Ham. [11] Four months later, he won the Dylan Tombides Academy Player of the Year Award. [12]

Oxford made his competitive, first team debut on 2 July 2015, aged 16, starting in midfield in a 3–0 win against Andorran club Lusitanos in a UEFA Europa League first qualifying round first leg tie. In so doing, he became West Ham's youngest ever player. [13] He then made his Premier League debut on 9 August, playing the first 79 minutes before being substituted for Kevin Nolan as West Ham won 2–0 away to Arsenal. Following his start, Oxford became the second-youngest Premier League starter of all-time, after Jose Baxter. [14]

Ahead of the 2016–17 season, Oxford was named in The Daily Telegraph's list of the best youth prospects in English football. [15] On his 18th birthday, 16 December 2016, Oxford signed a new, four-and-a-half year contract with West Ham. [16] Just over one month later, he was sent on loan to Reading for the remainder of the season. [17] He made his Reading debut on 11 March 2017 in a 3–0 away defeat to Preston North End, coming on as a second-half substitute for Paul McShane. He made five appearances, his final match being the 8 April away defeat to Norwich City, 7–1. [18]

On 21 June 2017, Oxford was sent on loan to Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach for the 2017–18 season. [19] [20] He did not make his debut until 28 October when he came on as an 89th-minute substitute for Lars Stindl in a 3–1 win against Hoffenheim. [21] On 12 December, Oxford made his first league start for Gladbach, against Freiburg. After the match, sporting director Max Eberl praised Oxford's development during his time at the club and stated exploratory talks had taken place over a permanent deal. [22] His loan was cut short and he returned to West Ham on 29 December 2017. [23]

On 31 January 2018, Oxford was loaned to Borussia Mönchengladbach again. [24]

Augsburg

On 31 January 2019, Oxford again went out on loan, this time joining German team FC Augsburg until the end of the season. [25] Oxford made nine appearances for Augsburg, his final game coming in the last day of the Bundesliga season in an 8–1 defeat by Wolfsburg. [26] On 2 August 2019, Oxford joined Augsburg permanently on a four-year deal. [27]

Oxford suffered a meniscus tear in July 2021, which required surgery. [28] In late summer 2022, Oxford began battling the long-term effects of COVID-19. On 22 November 2022, he made his comeback in the home game against VfL Bochum but did not make any further Bundesliga appearances afterward. On 17 March 2023, he started for FC Augsburg II against SV Wacker Burghausen. However, he suffered another health setback due to muscle injuries as a result of long COVID subsequently and underwent continued medical treatment. [29]

International career

Oxford has played for England up to under-20 level and captained his country at the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. [30] The Young Lions reached the quarter-finals, and Oxford scored in the penalty shootout as they defeated Spain in a play-off for the 2015 U-17 World Cup. [31] West Ham refused permission for him to play in the U17 World Cup in Chile, fearing that exposure to an international football tournament would lead to burnout. [32]

Style of play

UEFA.com has described his playing style as, "Tall and quick, he is not daunted in the face of illustrious opponents." [33] On several occasions during his youth player career, Oxford was compared to former West Ham academy graduate Rio Ferdinand. [34] [35]

Personal life

Oxford is of Jamaican descent through his grandfather. His grandfather, Karl, is the brother of the Jamaican footballer Neville Oxford. [36] In December 2018, Oxford was the victim of a theft when his 18-carat Rolex watch was stolen from the changing rooms at West Ham's Chadwell Heath training ground. [37]

Career statistics

As of 22 May 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupContinentalTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
West Ham United 2014–15 [38] Premier League 00000000
2015–16 [39] Premier League7020003 [lower-alpha 1] 0120
2016–17 [18] Premier League0000002 [lower-alpha 1] 020
2017–18 [18] Premier League102030
2018–19 [18] Premier League00000000
Total80400050170
Reading (loan) 2016–17 [18] Championship 50000050
Borussia Mönchengladbach (loan) 2017–18 [40] Bundesliga 701080
West Ham United U-21s 2018–19 [40] 2 [lower-alpha 2] 020
FC Augsburg (loan) 2018–19 [40] Bundesliga801090
FC Augsburg 2019–20 [40] Bundesliga12000120
2020–21 [40] Bundesliga24010250
2021–22 [40] Bundesliga30211313
2022–23 [40] Bundesliga300030
Total772310000803
FC Augsburg II 2022–23 [40] Regionalliga Bayern 100000
Career total9628100701113
  1. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

Honours

Club

West Ham United

Individual

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References

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  6. @whufc_official (1 July 2015). "OXFORD: @Reeceoxford_ will beat Billy Williams' record. Billy was 16 years 221 days old when he debuted v @BlackpoolFC on 6 May 1922" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 July 2015 via Twitter.
  7. Stonehouse, Gary (2 July 2015). "England U17s skipper enjoys winning senior Hammers debut". The Football Association. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
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