West Ham have a rising star in the making as one of their youngsters was made captain of the U17 England team.

Sixteen-year-old Reece Oxford signed a professional contract with the Hammers in January and the defender will lead out the team in Tuesday night’s match against Spain.

The team’s defence of their UEFA European Championship title came to a crashing halt last week after a disappointing 1-0 loss to Russia but their next game is still equally important. It will determine who will qualify for the FIFA U17 World Cup in Chile later in the year.

Described as a “wonder kid” Oxford has pushed himself close to a long-awaited first team debut for the Hammers and in April he scored a fantastic goal against Manchester United’s U21s side in a 3-2 defeat. The goal pushed him into the West Ham news feed and as he had been regularly training with the first team it was hoped manager Sam Allardyce may give him his debut before the end of the season, but with only one game to go this is looking more unlikely.

Many fans have been calling on Big Sam to use some of the talented youngsters the club has in the run-up to the end of the season. The Hammers have been dropping points all over the place and have won only two games since Christmas, which has seen them plummet to 11th in the Premier League table.

While fans should still be happy with their position it seems a bit of a disappointment compared to the beginning of the season. With very little to play for in the table after it was clear they would not get a Europa League spot (unless through the Financial Fair Play League), many called for Allardyce to bring in some of the young players to give them a chance especially as some of the key players were struggling with form and fatigue.

Allarcye believes that previous attempts to bring in the young squad players a chance have always backfired. He said: “It is always difficult for me.

"If we were in a better position with our results it would have been a good thing to look at the odd player. But the pressure with us at the moment to get results means it would be difficult for me to do.

"If you put a youngster in and lose you get criticised, the youngster might get criticised, so it is difficult."

While it is unlikely that we will see him in the Premier League for the Hammers. final game against relegation contenders Newcastle, it is certain that fans will see more of him as he develops as a player.

With him already playing international football and showing an impressive leadership quality in his interviews about the European Championships in Bulgaria, it is hard to believe that he is still so young.

Oxford is one to watch and he may be leading England’s national side out one day.

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