Bent on Oxford departure

Darren Bent has questioned whether Reece Oxford’s departure for next to nothing was more to do with the player’s attitude than West Ham.

Speaking to Football Insider Bent said: “Everyone, a few years back, was raving about him and saying he was going to go to United, Spain, all these clubs wanted him and all of a sudden the want for him died off. Maybe that’s down to him, in himself, his attitude. In two years’ time, for you to have the world as your oyster with a choice of where you wanted to go to no one wanting you, it’s really, really surprising. I can’t understand it. You can never really criticise West Ham’s development of players, they’ve got a good tradition over the years.”

The Hammers sold Reece to Augsberg for £2.1m this week with the proceeds mostly going to the player and his agent to compensate a drop in wages to permanently move to the German league. The deal will save the Hammers £20,000 per week in wages.