Former England international goalkeeper was left drooling by the performance of West Ham United youngster Nathan Holland on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old is currently spending the second half of the 2019/20 campaign on loan at Oxford United and they took on Premier League outfit Newcastle United in an FA Cup fourth-round replay this week.
Holland showed his quality in the match, scoring a superb 94th-minute equaliser for the U’s which made the score 2-2 and sent the game into extra time (@EmiratesFACup). Whilst they went on to lose 3-2, the young winger’s performance caught the eye.
Robinson was certainly impressed with Holland’s display at the Kassam Stadium and suggested that he is on loan at the right place to develop his game with Karl Robinson at the helm at Oxford.
Speaking about Holland and his performance against the Magpies, the former Spurs shot-stopper told Football Insider: “It was a brilliant finish, it got me out my seat when that one went in, what a finish that was.
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“He looks like a natural finisher, natural talent, very direct. Another good player to come through West Ham’s youth system.
“Obviously being very well utilised, put out on loan, get his game time and get some experience. At a club like that, with Karl Robinson in charge, it can only be good for his development working under Karl.”
Robinson is right; Holland certainly produced an impressive display against Steve Bruce’s side. Indeed, as well as scoring a fantastic goal, the former Everton youth player completed five successful dribbles and two successful crosses. He also showed that he can help out defensively by winning seven ground duels, two tackles and one aerial duel in the game (SofaScore).
He is also correct to suggest that working under Karl Robinson at Oxford will be good for his future development. You only have to look at Dele Alli, who worked with the 39-year-old at MK Dons, to see what he can do for young players.
Alli was given his debut at the age of just 16 by Robinson (Daily Mail) and went on to play 88 times for them before moving to Spurs (Transfermarkt), which may well be a factor in him going on to become a top Premier League player as he was given plenty of experience early in his career.
The U’s are one of the strongest teams in League One too, currently sitting in eighth place (BBC Sport). Playing in a confident side which wins on a regular basis will be a huge benefit to Holland and should give him confidence when he goes back to West Ham.
West Ham fans, were you impressed with Nathan Holland’s display in the FA Cup? Let us know below…
