West Ham may recall midfielder Marcus Browne from his loan spell at Oxford United as several Championship sides such as Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion are pursuing his services, according to Football Insider.
The reliable football news outlet share that the Hammers could decide to end his time at Oxford United in order to loan him out to a Championship side as they feel he would benefit from playing in England’s second-tier.
Football Insider report that Leeds and West Brom are joined in the race for Browne alongside Sheffield United, Derby, Stoke, Bristol City and Rotherham with all of them possibly looking to launch an attempt to borrow his services in January.
OPINION
This would be a fantastic move by the Hammers even if there’s slight risk to potentially moving Browne to a Championship club. The 21-year-old attacking midfielder has been in red-hot form all season, being involved in eight goals in his 16 league outings for Oxford, and looks capable of playing at a higher level. Given Browne looks so settled at Oxford United and is getting regularly playing time, the Hammers have to be sure about ending his loan deal. It would be awful if the Hammers bring him back to the London Stadium and loan him to a Championship outfit that barely end up using him. However it’s worth taking the risk as Football Insider’s report states that Browne is set to return to the Hammers in the summer in order to challenge for a place in Manuel Pellegrini’s side, and for him to be successful in that task he needs to push himself to improve this season. Playing in the Championship is definitely a challenge and could really see Browne hone his craft ready for the Hammers to benefit from his talents next season.
