Rumour Mongering: Liverpool Reconsider Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Stance

With opportunities remaining limited last season despite Liverpool playing more than 60 games, the expectation heading into the off-season was that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was likely to depart with West Ham and Aston Villa both linked.

However, a month into the summer the story had changed, with journalists with ties to the club suggesting the Reds were instead content to keep the veteran Englishman around as a depth option for the final year of his deal before allowing him to leave next summer.

Now, though, a deal could be back on the table with the latest from The Athletic’s James Pearce being that the club would allow the player to leave if he wants and a club offers a fee matching their valuation—believed to be around £10-12M.

Oxlade-Chamberlain made 29 appearances last season but played just around 1,500 minutes, or less than an hour per appearance on average, speaking to the fact that he was seen as an option off the bench at best for Jürgen Klopp’s quadruple-challenging side.

With the introduction of five substitutes in the Premier League next season those numbers might actually be expected to go up, but it seems unlikely any real opportunity exists for the player to significantly work his way up the depth chart.

For some, there will also be questions as to whether a return to being willing to sell Oxlade-Chamberlain means that the club are once again considering making a midfield signing this summer following earlier reports that one would not be made until 2023.