Aston Villa are looking to sign Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, as Steven Gerrard is really impressed with the boy and believes that the Villa environment could help him reignite his career.
According to several reports (via the FootballInsider), the Villans are keenly interested to buy Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The player moved to the Merseyside from Arsenal in 2017, and created much hype around the English League for good! There was a whole buzz around, because the whole world had seen what this young lad can do on the pitch. Oxlade-Chamberlain aka Ox, was one 0f the developing players in Wenger’s Arsenal squad, and he surely did fair well to maintain his rapport of breaking into any side because of the sheer abilities he possessed.
A move to the Merseyside was looking no less, as those around the player knew that Ox had the class of playing in the Premier League. So, everyone believed that such a move is only good for Liverpool in the long run- and the Kopites accepted the new boy, and made him feel at home at the Anfield, in no time.
23 back then, Oxlade-Chamberlain took the whole footballing world by storm- and expectedly so. In the 2017/18 season, his debut season in the Liverpool colours, he was looking unstoppable and as if he had been playing under this system for quite a long. The English midfielder became Jurgen Klopp’s one of the most trusted picks in the starting XI, that season. It was the season where Ox’s memorable Anfield strike against Man City, in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, send shivers down the spine of the thousand of Cityzens.
But something happened on the 24th of April 2018, it was Liverpool against Roma in the semi-final, and Oxlade-Chamberlain ruptured his Cruciate Ligament. He was taken straight to the hospital so as to not aggravate the injury, but everyone knew that this will keep him off the team for quite a while now.
Injury ridden!
Rehab sessions, training, regular check-ups, physios working with him, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain missed the entirety of the next season (2018/19) hoping for a return and trying everything he could. Despite the injury in the latter stages, Jurgen Klopp still regarded him for his contributions towards the team’s rise with some stellar displays. In his debut season, Ox played 46 games in total and scored 5 goals, while assisting another 13. He did well!
But then again, just when everyone thought that his career is over, Alex returned to the side in the 2019/20 season. Not just that, he played for a total of 43 games and contributed 11 goals in total – 8 goals and 3 assists. However, after the end of the season, during the team’s pre-season camp in Austria for the 2020/21 season, Alex picked up another knock to his knee. It looked minor in the beginning, but the injury worsened and the Englishman missed the majority of the next season as well.
Adding to that, Alex did return to full fitness the past season but so did the whole squad. And the lady luck along with the injuries has made his life, here at the Merseyside a lot harder than it first seemed to be. I mean no one could have done anything about those situations, but then again it is a fact that his chances to sneak into the Liverpool playing XI look much bleaker than ever before.
A chance to redeem himself with the Villans?
With the chance of playing in the Klopp’s side, looking thinner and thinner with every passing day- I think it is best suited for all of the parties that Ox must get transferred to a new side. Barring those injury-ridden seasons, the boy showed what he can deliver whenever he was called upon on the pitch. He made sure that he repays the trust his coach showed in him!
And it is true that Oxlade-Chamberlain has struggled at Liverpool, but it was all down to the horrific and unexpected injuries he sustained. So, in light of everything and keeping the future in mind, Liverpool have decided that they will accept the offers for the former-Arsenal man, and they will let him leave if the right offer comes their way.
A number of English clubs have been linked to the player, since then- West Ham, Aston Villa, and now Manchester United have shown their interest. But according to the reports from the FootballInsider, it looks as if the Villans could be ready to meet the Reds’ £10 demand for the player.
As seen in the past, Alex can operate well at any of the midfield positions but is highly effective as an attacking midfielder. So, Gerrard could well and truly be looking to get his services so that he can operate from the right-hand side, given, that they also have the services of Coutinho to match it out from the left-hand side of the attack. The coming few days will be key, as one other club have made their marks on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. It seems as if this summer could be the end of his Liverpool days and a start to something new something important to shape out his career.
