England wonderkid 'better than Declan Rice' makes sad career announcement aged 26

Once hailed as a more promising talent than Declan Rice, former England wonderkid Reece Oxford has announced his exit from his current club, three years after his last appearance. Oxford made a name for himself at West Ham United, shining in his debut match against Arsenal.

Oxford was just 16 when he started that 2-0 victory back in August 2015. However, a decade later, his career has hit a roadblock due to a series of injuries and a battle with Long Covid.

After finding it hard to secure game-time at the Hammers, Oxford was loaned out multiple times. He had stints at Reading, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Augsburg, before making his move to the latter permanent in 2019.

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He eventually became an integral part of the Bundesliga side, clocking up 56 appearances between 2020 and 2022. But a meniscus tear led to knee surgery, and his comeback was thwarted by a hamstring issue.

In the summer of 2022, Oxford began grappling with the long-term effects of COVID-19. Despite working with specialists, he found it difficult to return to the pitch, with his last senior team appearance being a 1-0 defeat to Bochum in November 2022, reports .

He did manage to play 76 minutes for Augsburg's reserve side in March 2023, even registering an assist in a Regionalliga Bavaria victory over SV Wacker Burghausen. However, this turned out to be his final appearance for the club, with the 26-year-old now announcing his departure.

"I just wanted to say a big thanks for the last six years. Obviously, you haven't seen me for the last two years," said the former England youth international in a heartfelt video released on the German club's social platforms.

"But the times when I was playing the fans were always great to me and always kept me going through the hard times as well, even Corona times, which was hard for me.

"So yeah, big thanks and hopefully I can come to a game as soon as next season and I see you guys again. Thank you."

This announcement marks the latest difficult chapter in Oxford's journey. Previously, he had been seen by some as having greater potential than his academy peer, Arsenal and England midfielder Rice.

His former teammate Lewis Page disclosed to The Athletic that there was a time when Oxford was considered the top talent over Rice in their West Ham days.

Page shared, "I remember having a conversation with him after dinner. Dec [Rice] wasn't sure if he was going to get a scholarship with West Ham. I was always confident he was going to get one, but at the time the club weren't sure what was Dec's best position.

"Reece was the main talent at centre-back and I'm not sure if the club thought Dec was good enough to play in midfield. You had Josh Cullen and Ben Marlow who were ahead of him. But West Ham took the chance and it's paid off ever since."

Since then, Rice has made a huge £100m switch to Arsenal, while Oxford is looking for his next career move. In related news, Augsburg announced the appointment of ex-Bayern Munich star Sandro Wagner as their new head coach on Wednesday.