Wonderkid Returns to West Ham ahead of Restart

The club have announced that the loan of Nathan Holland at Oxford United has ended and that the young attacker will return to West Ham.

In what sounds like just a paper transaction for a previously injured player returning to their club, West Ham officially announces that Nathan Holland has returned from Oxford United in the conclusion of his loan deal, but this is no small move.

Graded higher than Grady Diangana, Ben Johnson, Xande Silva, and Jeremy Ngakia, Nathan Holland was and should still be looked at as the crowning jewel of the post-Declan Rice academy. Injury trouble has sidelined him, but raw talent and skill have him head and shoulders above his counterparts.

While Diangana has succeeded at West Brom and Ngakia has excelled in limited first-team action, Holland is still the seemingly caudled starlet of West Ham. Recovering from his hamstring injury sustained in March, Holland should be on track to factor into team selection for the restarted 2019/20 Premier League season.

Officially back at the club, Holland will now have some stiff competition to get game time for the senior team. Technically a left-sided attacker/midfielder, Felipe Anderson and Pablo Fornals have the side locked down. Michail Antonio, Robert Snodgrass, Andriy Yarmolenko and starter Jarrod Bowen have the right side pegged as well. Centrally, Fornals, Manuel Lanzini, and Jack Wilshere can all play in advanced roles – tough competition to say the least.

The saving grace for Holland? He’s young, fits into Moyes’ plans for the revamped West Ham team, and is relatively inexpensive on the wage book in comparison to his counterparts and potential incumbent players.

An eventual loan to the Championship a la Grady Diangana may be on the books for Holland after this season is completed but until then it’s up to him to prove Moyes has a player that can help the team now and in the future. Welcome home, Nathan!