West Ham attacking midfielder Marcus Browne is in talks over a loan move to Oxford, according to reliable football website Football Insider.
They claim that the 20-year-old has fallen further down the pecking order at the London Stadium after Manuel Pellegrini is set to revamp the squad in his image.
Oxford United are the favourites to land the player who is highly thought of at West Ham and who has been at the club since he was eight.
Browne has had one loan spell out before with Wigan last year, but he only made one appearance.
OPINION
West Ham might well have an embarrassment of riches in the middle of the park if Pellegrini can land all his reported targets. Jack Wilshere is already in place, and deals for Andriy Yarmolenko and Filipe Anderson are reported to be in advanced stages too. 20-year-old Browne is going to have to fight for his West Ham career after coming up the youth ranks and that looks like it will be in League 1. He’ll get regular game time at Oxford, which is just what he needs at this stage on his career. If he does well there, he’ll either get more time and possibly a shot at the senior team at West Ham, or he’ll have put himself in a good position for a permanent deal in the lower leagues of England. He is highly regarded at West Ham though and has made one senior appearance already, in a Europa League qualifier. He’s sat on the bench for five Premier League games without making an appearance. Now he’ll get the chance to prove that he can be the star at Oxford.
