Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could depart the club in January
According to the Daily Mail, Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could soon leave the club and the only barrier is the decision to either depart in January or the summer when his contract expires (Transfermarkt).
Either way, there are no talks or discussions of a contract extension for the player and it seems like just a matter of time before the player heads elsewhere. A £35m fee for the player back in 2017, seemed a substantial amount of money and the Ox has unfortunately not lived up to it.
Even though he is a fan favourite, his knee injury back in the 2018-19 season had an adverse effect on his playing time. Since then, the player has been unable to cement a spot in the Starting XI for himself, and moreover, he has also been extremely injury-prone.
In 142 appearances for the Reds across all competitions, the Ox has 18 goals and 15 assists, most of which came in the 2019/20 Premier League winning season for the Reds. Post the World Cup, Ox sees for himself more game-time than he would have envisioned due to the injury issues to Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota.
Is the Ox’s time at the Reds up?
He scored his first goal this season in the 3-1 away loss to Brentford and is also in contention to face Brighton. Following Darwin Nunez’s injury, Ox could start on the left wing or the centre, depending on where Cody Gakpo will stand deployed.
However, the one major dilemma Liverpool have is to take a decision on retaining the player’s services for this season. If the club decides to retain him till the summer window, Ox could leave for free. Should he move on in January, Liverpool can recoup what they can but threaten to upset their squad depth.
Having said that, if he performs extremely well in case he is at the club until the summer, there is an outside chance that his contract could be extended. Even that is a long shot as many players would be back from their respective injury layoffs then and playing time will be a major issue for the former Arsenal midfielder.
More Liverpool News:
- Liverpool opt out of activating Arthur Melo’s buyout clause
- Andy Cole has jumped to the defence of Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez
- Bacary Sagna believes that Liverpool will not finish in the top four of the Premier League
In any case, Liverpool will need to make a decision about his future with the club sooner rather than later and from the looks of it, a summer move for Oxlade-Chamberlain seems to be the best option for either party.
