Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Stalls Chelsea Move in Hopes of Liverpool Bid

Chelsea and Arsenal are reported to have agreed a fee of around £35M to transfer 24-year-old winger and midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from The Emirates to Stamford Bridge, but the player is holding up the completion of any deal in the hopes of a late Liverpool bid for him.

Liverpool’s interest in the player has cooled in recent days as the club instead have decided to push to sign Monaco’s 21-year-old Thomas Lemar, a player who would fill a similar role as Oxlade-Chamberlain in Jürgen Klopp’s system, but if that deal cannot be done they could return for the Arsenal player.

Or at least they could if he doesn’t complete his Chelsea move first. And they may have to, with a smattering of reports suggesting Monaco have rejected Liverpool’s second offer, made earlier today, of around €70M for Lemar—their first came earlier in the summer, a proposed €55M deal.

However, some reports out of France claim that despite Monaco claiming they don’t want to lose the player, they are simply looking to start a bidding war, perhaps tempting Arsenal to return for the player. Liverpool could also potentially tempt the French side by sending Divock Origi in the other direction.

Either way, with only three days left in the window, the futures of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lemar should be decided in relatively short order.