The early rounds of European competition are a great opportunity for Premier League clubs to blood some youngsters, and they don’t come much younger than West Ham’s Reece Oxford.
Oxford will become the London club’s youngest ever player when he starts against FC Lusitanos in the Europa League, having been born on December 16, 1998. That makes him one day older than Norwegian wonderkid Martin Odegaard.
If that leaves you checking for wrinkles and crow’s feet, we’re not surprised. Here are just a few things older than the teenage midfielder.
Michael Owen’s goal against Argentina
A time of hope for England fans, with an exciting young striker breaking through to give his country something to be excited about in a major tournament. Rarely has a goal made us jump out of our seats like that one. And Oxford missed it, what with him still being in the womb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPC6Yv3BPVY
MMMBop by Hanson
Everyone’s favourite family band burst onto the scene with their fresh faces and nonsensical lyrics, but guitarist Isaac Hanson was older then than Reece Oxford is now…
A Bug’s Life
Remember that big cinema battle between Pixar’s second release and rival insect-themed animation Antz? Reece Oxford doesn’t. A Bug’s Life was released almost a month before his birth.
Crash Bandicoot
Before one of the most popular PlayStation releases came along, we had to make do with marsupial-free video games. Oxford can’t even begin to imagine what that bleak, unforgiving era was like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvrRbaOdaq0
That’s right, even the world’s largest online search engine is older than the Hammers midfielder. The founders registered the famous domain name more than a year before Oxford came into this world, and are now multi-billionaires. We’re not suggesting his birth inspired their success, but we don’t want to rule it out.
