Liverpool are believed to have not been put off by Arsenal’s asking price of £35million for English winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The 23-year old is set to enter the final year of his contract at the start of next season and Arsenal are yet to hold formal talks with the Englishman.
Klopp is a keen admirer of the Ox and a move may well be on the cards as Arsenal’s struggles continue to mount this season. They recently lost to Crystal Palace 3-0 and are looking completely lost on the pitch every single game. The only positive for Arsenal from the Palace game was Oxlade-Chamberlain’s performance. He replaced a struggling Theo Walcott and added some life to the game.
Ox could be the kind of player who Jurgen Klopp would love to have. He is technically excellent and works hard on the pitch. He is versatile and is now looking absolutely comfortable playing in central midfield.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger insisted that he wants Chamberlain to extend his contract at the Emirates.
The Frenchman said:
“I personally think it is vital that Chamberlain stays at Arsenal. We bought him when he was very young, we have built him up and I think he has a great mentality. I like his mentality and he has a good football brain. It would be a big damage for us to lose this kind of player.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain signed for Arsenal from Southampton in 2011. He recently returned from a hamstring injury but has not started a match for almost a month.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has been told talks will take place at the end of the season. There are also a number of Arsenal players who are set to enter the final year of their contracts next season, with Jack Wilshere, the 25-year-old England midfielder currently on loan at Bournemouth, left back Kieran Gibbs, star man Alexis Sanchez on the list.
Arsenal sold Robin van Persie to Manchester United for £24 million in August 2012, when the Holland striker was in the final year of his contract. However, the £35 million plus valuation of Oxlade-Chamberlain seems little high considering the fact that there would be only one year left on his contract when the transfer window opens in July.
Liverpool would be confident of bringing the price down as the odds seem to be in the favour of the Reds in terms of negotiations.
Do you think Oxlade-Chamberlain would be a good signing for Liverpool?
