Bundesliga
Reece Oxford: "I can focus on football here"
New Augsburg signing Reece Oxford finally becomes a permanent Bundesliga resident this season, the 20-year-old back in Germany where he "can focus on football" in an environment successfully fostering so many of his countrymen.
Oxford - a centre-back and accomplished defensive midfielder - signed a four-year contract with the Fuggerstädter this summer after impressing on a season-long loan with the Bavarians last year.
That was the third Bundesliga loan spell of Oxford’s career, having had two stints with Borussia Mönchengladbach over the course of 2017/18.
Now, the England youth international has followed in the footsteps of the likes of Jadon Sancho, Ademola Lookman and Rabbi Matondo in swapping the English Premier League for the Bundesliga full-time. The former West Ham United man believes it is the best place for him to further his development.
"I wanted to try something new," Oxford told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. "I like the club and the league. It's different in Augsburg than in London and that's good for me.
"I'm a young player and can focus on football here."
A swathe of young British talent has headed for Germany’s top tier recently, with the promise of greater playing time the driving force.
Oxford himself made 15 Bundesliga appearances over the past two seasons, compared to just eight Premier League outings since he became the Hammers’ youngest ever player at 16, against Arsenal back in 2015.
The 6’3” Londoner clearly hopes to continue on that path and establish himself as a fully fledged first team member at FCA, while also hoping to “be able to speak German by January”.
“[My ambition] is to play as many games as possible and finish in the top half of the table with the team,” he explained.