West Ham manager Slaven Bilic doesn’t believe Reece Oxford, Reece Burke and Declan Rice will all have chances to play in the Hammers’ first team next season as they play in the same position.
Both Oxford and Burke had unsuccessful loan spells last season while Rice made his first team debut on the last day of the season against Burnley, but Bilic wants them to make every effort in training to convince him that they deserve more minutes on the pitch. He told the club’s offical website:
“For me, they all have a future, although we have three centre-backs It’s going to be hard for them all to knock on the door and play for West Ham very, very soon. It’s up to them. They’ve been training with us and now it’s about time for them to play.”
Oxford managed just two starts and three substitute appearances during his loan spell at Reading, while Burke made just ten appearances for Wigan with injuries playing a role in his lack of game time in the Championship.
If Bilic does continue with three at the back, opportunities maybe more forthcoming for the trio next season, but going by the Hammers boss’s comments, it’s likely that at least one of them will be sent out on loan to get more games.
