Borussia Monchengladbach sporting director Max Eberl has expressed his delight at signing West Ham's Reece Oxford on loan - hailing the 18-year-old as one of England's "best young defensive talents".
West Ham confirmed on Wednesday that Oxford, 18, will spend next season on loan with the Bundesliga side to give the defender the chance to play regularly and gain experience of a "technical" league, according to Slaven Bilic.
Oxford enjoyed an impressive breakthrough under Bilic after being handed his debut aged 16 against FC Lusitans in the Europa League in 2015 - becoming the club's youngest first-team player in the process - before being given his first Premier League start against Arsenal a month later.
Injury at the beginning of the 2016/17 campaign prevented him from playing a bigger role for the Hammers last term but, after recovering from his ankle injury, he spent the second half of the season on loan at Reading.
Monchengladbach have now capitalised on Oxford's lack of playing time in the West Ham first team by signing him on a one-year loan deal, with sporting director Eberl saying it has allowed the German side to recruit a "very interesting player".
"Reece Oxford has played for England at youth level and is considered one of the country’s best young defensive talents,"Eberl told the club's website.
"This loan deal gives us the chance to add a very interesting player to our squad.
"On top of that, we’ve had good experience with signing young Premier League players in the recent past."
