West Ham United academy manager Terry Westley says there is no longer a fear of losing their best prospects to rivals.
Reece Oxford and Joe Powell both recently turned pro with the Hammers amid interest from bigger rival clubs.
"I think it has made a statement to other clubs out there that we're not going to let our best players leave," Westley told whfc.com. "There was a lot of interest with Joe as well, which is why we needed to offer them a contract and get them committed to a long term programme.
"They now have a great opportunity to become first team players sometime in the near future. We look at it in terms of four year cycles, like the Olympics. You concentrate on London 2012, and then focus on Rio 2016. The gold medal for us is young players playing first team football in the new stadium."
