Slaven Bilic believes allowing Reece Burke and Josh Cullen to join Bolton Wanderers on loan is the perfect scenario for all involved.
Both players are highly rated by the West Ham United manager, but they have found first team football hard to come by at the London Stadium as they continue to learn their trade. And they will now do so in the Championship with Bolton, who have taken both players on five-month loan deals.
Midfielder Cullen, 21, has made four appearances for the Hammers, and 63 during two loan spells at Bradford City. Defender Burke, 20, has played 12 times for his parent club and has also had a temporary stint at the Bantams, making 36 outings, and appeared 10 times for Wigan Athletic last season.
They will now spend the first part of the new campaign under the guidance of Phil Parkinson, who they played for whilst at Valley Parade. And Bilic believes this arrangement is the ideal solution for all parties, especially the young duo who he believes can go on and have a big future with the Hammers.
“This is a perfect opportunity for Reece and Josh,” he told the club’s official website. “They are both very promising young players, who have shown that they have the right attitude, temperament and quality to have a successful future at West Ham United if they continue in the same manner.”
Bolton are back in the Championship after finishing runners-up in League One last season, and begin their campaign with a visit from Leeds United on Sunday afternoon. Both Burke and Cullen will be available to Parkinson, who is looking forward to working with the pair once more.
“We’ve worked with Reece and Josh before and are very pleased to get them on board,” he told Bolton’s official website. “They are good characters but more importantly good players. They’ll add a lot of quality to the squad and have a desire to show everybody that they can play at this level.”
