West Brom Opinion: Baggies should beat Boro in the race to sign Reece Oxford

According to Bristol Post, Championship sides West Brom and Middlesbrough are set to go head to head in a transfer tug of war over 20-year-old West Ham academy product Reece Oxford.

Bristol Post understands that Oxford was set to join German Bundesliga outfit Augsburg permanently this summer following a successful loan spell in the second half of the last season but the deal is on the verge of collapsing.

Both the Championship promotion-hopefuls are looking to take advantage of the situation and Bristol Post claims that they have firmed up their interest in the 20-year-old talented starlet.

Middlesbrough finished 7th in the Championship this past season and narrowly missed out on the final playoff spot, while West Brom’s chances of making it back to the Premier League at the first time of asking ended with a defeat at the hands of Aston Villa in the playoff semi-finals.

However, both the teams will be expected to make a renewed surge for promotion next term and they have already started identifying potential transfer targets in a bid to bolster their ranks.

A youth product of West Ham, Reece Oxford was regarded as one of the brightest prospects of English football when he broke into the Hammers first-team in the 2015-16 season, aged just 16. The starlet made 7 Premier League appearances in his debut season for the East Londoners but he fell out of favour thereafter, subsequently spending loan spells at Reading in the Championship and Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga.

Oxford was once again loaned out to Augsburg back in January 2019, where he made 8 Bundesliga appearances for the German outfit before returning to East London upon the expiry of his loan agreement.

He has found regular minutes increasingly difficult to come by at his boyhood club, and with the Hammers showing a lot of ambition under Manuel Pellegrini, the 20-year-old can’t expect things to take a dramatic turnaround next term.

The centre-back has only made 17 appearances for the Hammers in all competitions till date, whilst also representing England at all youth levels from U-16 to U-20. Oxford continues to be an exceptional talent but one can get the feeling that he needs regular exposure at the highest level and stability in his career to realise his full potential in the years to come.

Given that he has already had loan stints at three different clubs, settling down somewhere permanently would do his development a world of good.

To put things into perspective, Oxford would be an ideal signing for both Middlesbrough and West Brom, considering the fact that he is still only 20 and has plenty of time to smoothen the rough edges in his game. However, taking last season’s statistics into account, it has to be said that the Baggies need him more than the Teessiders.

Middlesbrough held the joint best defensive record with Sheffield United in the Championship this past season, with the Teessiders conceding only 41 goals in 46 league outings.

West Brom, on the other hand, shipped as many as 62 goals and shared the joint-worst defensive record with Swansea City in the top ten. Hence, it is pretty clear that whoever takes over as the permanent manager at the Hawthorns need to look at defensive reinforcements.

Despite boasting of the likes of Craig Dawson, Ahmed Hegazi and Kyle Bartley in central defence, West Brom’s backline showed signs of creaking under pressure last season. Moreover, the imminent departures of loanees Tosin Adarabioyo and Mason Holgate to their parent clubs Man City and Everton respectively should open up a vacancy at the back.

Suffice to say, West Brom need to increase competition for places at the back and bringing in Reece Oxford would be an excellent idea, keeping in mind the club’s long-term, as well as short-term goals. The 20-year-old already has a Premier League and Bundesliga experience under his belt and he could go on to play a big role for the Baggies in the Championship next term.

Standing at 6ft. 3 inches with a towering and well-built frame, Oxford is a fast and agile centre-back, who is noted for his physicality, aerial prowess, composure in possession and incredible ball-playing abilities. The 20-year-old’s ball-playing qualities have often prompted managers to use him in a holding midfield role, meaning that he is versatile to play in multiple positions.

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Having said that, West Brom winning the race for Reece Oxford would help the Baggies get one over their promotion rivals Middlesbrough, as both the teams look to return to the top-flight next term.