Bundesliga
"Young players given a lot of chances in the Bundesliga" - Reece Oxford
Augsburg's English defender Reece Oxford says the Bundesliga's youth-centric philosophy is part of what makes it one of the "top two leagues in the world".
Oxford joined Augsburg on a permanent deal from English Premier League outfit West Ham United in the summer, following an encouraging season-long loan with the club in 2018/19, as well as two temporary stints with Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The 20-year-old defender has already featured in five of Augsburg's six Bundesliga assignments in 2019/20 - making his first start of the campaign the 3-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 6 - and now has 20 German top-flight games to his name compared to the eight he featured in for West Ham in the Premier League between August 2015 and January 2019.
"I think the Bundesliga is up there with the top two leagues in the world," Oxford told bundesliga.com. "The Bundesliga and Premier League are the top two in the world and I think the level of football here is great. They give a lot of chances to young players."
Watch: Reece Oxford sings the Bundesliga's praises
Oxford is part of a swathe of young British talent to have headed for Germany’s top tier in recent years, with the promise of greater playing time the driving force.
Jadon Sancho has become a household name and full England international since swapping the Manchester City youth academy for Borussia Dortmund at 17, while another former Man City up-and-comer, Welshman Rabbi Matondo, scored his first senior league goal in Schalke's 3-1 win against RB Leipzig this past weekend.
Keanan Bennetts is another expat example. The 20-year-old English winger did not make a single first-team appearance for Tottenham Hotspur, before putting pen to paper on a four-year contract with Gladbach in May 2018.
Although the English-German bilingual Londoner has registered two goals and two assists in 24 appearances for the reserves, he is still awaiting his first taste of Bundesliga action.
A hamstring injury means he is unlikely to get it when Augsburg visit Borussia-Park on 5 October, but Oxford is nonetheless relishing the prospect of lining up against the club that gave him his big break on German soil.
"I know a few of the boys as I used to play for them and hopefully we can get a victory against them or something out of it in Gladbach," he said.
"We tried our best against Leverkusen. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. So let's get back to work in training and see if we can get a result next weekend."