West Ham defender Reece Burke targets Championship loan move after signing new deal at London Stadium

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Sam Long22 August 2016

West Ham defender Reece Burke has signed a new four-year contract at the London Stadium which will tie him to the Premier League club until 2020.

The 19-year-old centre back spent last season on loan in League One with Bradford City and is highly rated in east London.

Burke has not ruled out leaving the Hammers on loan again this season - amid fierce competition for place in Slaven Bilic's defence - but is hopeful he can play in Thursday night's Europa League clash against Astra Giurgiu.

"I'm hoping to be involved and if Slaven [Bilic] asks me to do a job anywhere on the pitch I'll definitely be up for it," Burke told the club's official website.

"The club has a few centre-halves this season so there's a lot of competition there. If he asks me, I'm just going to say 'Yes'."

Despite his tender years, Burke has already almost made 50 senior appearances and is targeting a temporary move to the Championship in the search of regular game time.

Having emerged from his spell at Valley Parade in a positive light, the youngster believes proving his worth in the second tier could pave the way for a career in West Ham's first team.

“This season for me, another loan move may happen for me.

"I think I’m going to try and do Championship - the next step - and see how the season goes hopefully playing Championship football and I’ll hopefully get another load of games under my belt.

“I want to build on that experience and come back next year even better, just similarly building like I did last season.

"Hopefully I could have a similarly positive season this year in the Championship.”

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