Wonderkid who was 'better than Declan Rice' at West Ham makes incredibly sad career announcement
A West Ham United wonderkid tipped to be better than club legend Declan Rice has made a incredibly sad announcement about his career.
Two years ago when West Ham United became the first Premier League club to win the UEFA Conference League, the moment was bittersweet.
Although it was undoubtedly one of the biggest moments in the club's history, the Conference League final was also club legend Rice's final match before joining London rivals Arsenal.
Rice was just one of several players to come through West Ham's academy in the early years of his career, but while there he wasn't the standout player.
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Instead, English defender Reece Oxford was tipped to be the next big superstar at the club, but things weren't meant to be and he has now been forced to make a brutal decision about his career.
Despite a promising start to his career with West Ham, Oxford joined Augsburg on loan in January 2019, before agreeing a permanent move in the summer.
The Englishman was initially heavily involved, making a total of 69 appearances, but a series of injuries mean that his last appearance for the club was back in 2022.
With that in mind, Oxford has made the difficult decision to leave the German club at the end of the season.
Speaking in a video posted to the club's social media, Oxford said: "I just wanted to say a big thanks for the last six years.
"Obviously, you haven't seen me for the last two years, but the times when I was playing the fans were always great to me and always kept me going through the hard times as well, even Corona times, which was hard for me.
"So yeah, big thanks and hopefully I can come to a game as soon as next season and I see you guys again. Thank you."
The recent years of Oxford's career serve as a brutal reminded of how tough football can be on a players body, and are a massive shame considering the high praise one of his former West Ham teammates.
In an interview with The Athletic, ex-West Ham trainee Lewis Page said: "I remember having a conversation with him after dinner. Dec wasn’t sure if he was going to get a scholarship with West Ham."
Page added: "He got released by Chelsea and he was worried it was going to happen again. I was always confident he was going to get one, but at the time the club weren’t sure what was Dec’s best position.
“Reece was the main talent at centre-back and I’m not sure if the club thought Dec was good enough to play in midfield... But West Ham took the chance and it’s paid off."
Topics: Declan Rice, Premier League, Football, Injury, West Ham
Ben McCrum