West Ham United

Slaven Bilic: 'Reece Oxford can be first of new West Ham United era'

By Tom Nightingale, Reporter | 14 August 2015

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic hopes that Reece Oxford can be the first of a new generation of top-class talent to come through the club's academy.

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic says that Reece Oxford can be the first of a new era of top-class youth talent to come through the club's academy.

The Hammers have produced talent such as Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick in the past, and 16-year-old Oxford made his Premier League debut for the club last Sunday against Arsenal.

Bilic said after that game that Oxford has "got everything", and the Croatian believes that he could be the first of many new stars at Upton Park in the coming years.

"In all of the best teams over the last 20 to 30 years, the core of the team were homegrown players," Bilic told The Mirror.

"In the last 15 to 20 years [West Ham had] maybe the best academy in England, if you take Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Glen Johnson, Joe Cole and many, many more.

"We will try to do it again. We have a few very good youngsters, not only Reece, but we have to be careful with them."

West Ham face Leicester City tomorrow in their first home game of the new season.