West Ham used the £2.1million from Reece Oxford’s transfer to Augsburg to pay the player and his agent compensation fees, according to Claret and Hugh.
The West Ham news outlet claim that the seven-figure fee picked up by the Hammers for the versatile enforcer’s exit helped to hand both Oxford and his representatives a significant pay-off following his departure.
Oxford returned to Germany for a third stint, this time on a permanent switch, after two loan spells at Borussia Monchengladbach and Augsburg respectively.
He was forced to start his new side’s season on the bench, featuring for 13 minutes in a 5-1 defeat to Bundesliga heavyweights Borussia Dortmund.
Opinion
This news will not be taken very well by the West Ham faithful, who have effectively seen their side pay a player to leave their club. The £2.1million price was hardly a massive figure in the first place and so it appears as though Oxford may have ended up costing the club more than what he offered in footballing talent and his eventual transfer fee. This also highlights just how costly a transfer can be regardless of what the supposed fee might be. Could West Ham not have ramped up the price a little more to cover the cost of Oxford’s compensation, which was likely due to terms written into his contract in east London? Maybe that played its part in the club struggling to get rid of him this summer. Either way, Oxford seems to have been a costly player for the Hammers and you can be sure they will look to avoid making the same mistakes with any other prodigal talents that come their way.
