Rumour Mongering: Southampton Want Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remains a Jürgen Klopp favourite but injuries have seen the attacking midfielder fall well down the pecking order at Anfield and minutes will likely be hard to come by for the 27-year-old this season.

That could lead to a departure before the close of the transfer window, with West Ham a frequently mentioned landing spot this summer. It could be Oxlade-Chamberlain has other suitors, though, with reports today of Southampton interest.

Or at least that’s the story from TalkSport, who claim that Southampton want to bring back the former youth player who last played for them in League One back in the 2010-11 season before being snapped up by Arsenal in a £12M deal.

However, Saints are said to only be looking at the player on loan, and while Liverpool likely wouldn’t stand in the way of a departure for the player should he wish to move on in search of playing time, it’s hard to see them agreeing a loan.

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s status as a domestically trained player gives him added value for the Reds, and if he departed the club would likely have to replace him with another homegrown player—or leave his current roster spot vacant this season.

Southampton might like to bring the player home on loan, but for Liverpool there would really be very little value in shipping out a well-liked homegrown depth option without at least getting a reasonable transfer fee in return for him.