Official: Liverpool Announce Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

After months of speculation, and a late push by Chelsea to secure the midfielder’s signature, Liverpool have officially announced the signing of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in a £35 million deal.

“I’m delighted to have signed for Liverpool and a big thank-you to everyone here at the FA that has made this possible, using the facilities,” Oxlade-Chamberlain said. “It has been a massive help.

“I’m not going to say too much today; I’m here with England and we’ve got two big games coming up, so I want to focus on them. But I can’t wait to get to Melwood.”

With the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Thomas Lemar still floating out there in the transfer ether, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s signature might not seem as exciting on first blush. Still, this is a player that Arsenal were desperate to keep (to the tune of £180,000 per week), and that defending champs Chelsea were willing to go over odds to sign him (to the tune of £40 million). That he chose Liverpool over the other two London clubs speaks volumes to the perceived trajectory of the Merseyside club.

It will be interesting to see how Jürgen Klopp sees Oxlade-Chamberlain fitting into the current side. As we saw last year with Georginio Wijnaldum, it isn’t always obvious where the Liverpool boss plans on best utilizing his newest signings.

If Klopp knows where he’ll fit in, he’s not saying just yet.

“I hear a lot of talk about positions but let's talk about the player; he is someone with really good abilities who always gives everything for his team,” Klopp said in an interview with the official website. “A player that is positive and willing to take risks to try and make positive things happen.

“He may still be young but he has a lot of experience in the Premier League, Champions League and for his country. Already he is a very, very good player and I think he has the mentality and desire to get even better - and that excites me.”

Welcome aboard, Alex!