Newcastle United are prepared to rival Southampton in the race to sign Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, made available by Liverpool.
According to Calciomercato, Liverpool are ready to listen to offers for Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain. The midfielder doesn’t have any future at Anfield, and the Premier League giants won’t come in his way, should he opt to join a new club in the summer.
It has put Newcastle United and Southampton on red alert, with the former joining the race for the first time as they continue the search for reinforcements in the midfield department.
For Southampton, though, it is a matter of bringing back one of their prodigal sons. Indeed, St. Mary’s Stadium was once a home for young Oxlade-Chamberlain, then regarded as the future of English football, before he eventually sealed a move to Arsenal in 2011.
The Portsmouth native had appeared in 43 competitive matches for the Saints, scoring ten goals. And after exactly a decade later, they are prepared to bring him back – this time to help him relaunch his career after four frustrating years at Liverpool.
At Anfield, his progress has been marred by injuries and lack of game time. In four years, the player has mustered almost 200 competitive appearances for the club, but the majority of them have come from the bench.
Southampton are prepared to use his precarious situation by bringing him back to St. Mary’s Stadium and make him one of their main creative outlet, especially having roped in Adam Armstrong from Blackburn Rovers.
The same can be said for Newcastle United, who are facing a crisis in midfield. There is a shortage of quality players at NUFC, especially in the middle of the park, which is vital as far as chance creation is concerned.
The Magpies had a lot of success last season with Joe Willock. And even though negotiations with Arsenal over a permanent move seem to have yielded the desired positive breakthrough, coach Steve Bruce has set his sights on Oxlade-Chamberlain as anoter potential addition to the midfield department.
The former Arsenal man certainly offers the experience and pedigree needed to improve both these clubs. His sale won’t faze Liverpool too much either, especially with Jurgen Klopp having been unable to rely on him regularly in the recent past.
It is why the Reds are open to offloading the playmaker that will aid them financially, ultimately leading to a potential new signing. They are among the clubs reportedly interested in Renato Sanches, who has a hefty price tag of €40-42 million.
