West Ham Could Extend Defender Reece Burke's Loan Spell at Bolton Wanderers
West Ham's 21-year-old Reece Burke loan move to Championship side Bolton could be extended until the end of the 2018/19 season, claims Football London (via HITC).
Burke has been at West Ham since he was nine-years-old and has been sent out on loan to various clubs over the past couple of seasons. The defender has spent time at Bradford City and Wigan Athletic in the previous two campaigns, before joining Bolton in August.
The English centre-back returned to West Ham in January, when his loan spell in the Championship came to an end, and immediately appeared for the Hammers first team.
Burke played in the FA Cup third-round clash at Shrewsbury Town, before starting the replay at the London Stadium and scoring the only goal in the fixture; taking West Ham through to the next round of the cup.
West Ham boss, David Moyes, reportedly wanted to give the young defender a chance in the first team but, content with his options in defence, sent him back out on loan to Bolton at the end of January.
The former Manchester United manager must be happy with the 21-year-old's development in the North West as a new season long deal for 2018/19 is reportedly being lined up with Bolton.
However, with Jose Fonte leaving the club in the summer and James Collins out of contract in August, there could be more opportunities at centre-back for the young player.
Moyes does still have options at the back with Winston Reid, Declan Rice and Angelo Ogbonna. However, the possibility of losing Collins as well as Fonte could open the door for the likes of Burke and fellow youngster Reece Oxford, who is currently on loan to Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach.