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West Brom & Middlesbrough in for Oxford

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West Ham United defender Reece Oxford’s summer sale to German side Augsburg is on the brink of collapse, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper claims that Augsburg have agreed a £4million deal  and personal terms to sign the 20-year-old from the Hammers, but are refusing to include a standard relegation clause in his contract.

That sticking point could see the transfer break down, and Championship sides West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough are ready to enter the hunt for the youngster.

The Baggies are all set to appoint former West Ham boss Slaven Bilic as their new manager, with the Croatian responsible for giving Oxford his first team debut in east London. Boro are also interested in the versatile defender.

OPINION

It seems strange that a transfer where everything has seemingly been agreed would break down over something as minimal as a relegation clause. That’s pretty standard in the contracts of players joining mid or lower table sides, but Augsburg are seemingly ready to wreck their chances of signing Oxford because they don’t want to put one in his deal. Oxford enjoyed a decent loan spell with Martin Schmidt’s side during the second half of the season, but it seems that he may not be heading back to the Bundesliga after all. Instead, he could be set to drop down to the Championship. We all know by now about the sad decline of a spectacular talent in Oxford, but seemingly West Brom and Middlesbrough are still willing to take a risk on him. Bilic obviously knows the player well so that would appear to be a decent move for him, while Boro want to focus on youth as they look to get back on track. Either way, it’s certainly time for Oxford to leave the London Stadium.

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