West Ham starlet Reece Oxford says he is looking up to former Hammers and England defender Rio Ferdinand as he progresses through the ranks at the London Stadium.
The young defender was superb on his debut for Slaven Bilic’s side last season in the 2-0 win at Arsenal and, at the age of 16, he became the second youngest player to ever start in the Premier League.
He then went on to make six more league appearances last season and, although he hasn’t got much game time so far this campaign, he can already see similarities between himself and Ferdinand.
He told Goal: ‘The player that I looked up to the most at West Ham was probably Rio Ferdinand, because he was the same position as me.
‘When I came to the club I was a striker and he got moved to centre-back [too] and he just moved on from there, so hopefully I can push on the way he pushed on.’
Ferdinand made over 150 appearances for West Ham between 1995 and 2000, before sealing an £18 million move to Leeds United which, at the time, made him the most expensive defender in the world.
The former England captain then moved to Manchester United for £30 million in 2002, becoming the most expensive defender for a second time, and made over 450 appearances in a 12-year stay at Old Trafford.
Having someone like Ferdinand to look up to and base yourself on can only benefit Oxford, as he looks to live up to his undoubted potential over the next few years.
