Liverpool are reportedly making a serious effort to sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from Arsenal in a £35m+ deal before Thursday’s transfer deadline.
With just under 12 months remaining on his current contract with Arsenal, the 24-year-old’s future has been thrown into serious doubt amid reports that he has rejected offers of a renewal.
According to The Mirror, Oxlade-Chamberlain turned down the latest offer of a £180,000-a-week deal, and that in turn has led to the suggestion that Arsenal could now look to sell before the deadline next week if bids come in over £35m.
It makes sense if Oxlade-Chamberlain is keen to move on and is clearly not willing to pen a new deal, in which case Arsenal must cash in now while they can instead of losing him on a free transfer in a year’s time.
The Mirror add that while Chelsea had been expected to be favourites to sign the England international, Liverpool are now set to rival them which might be good news for the Gunners as it could spark a bidding war between the two Premier League giants.
Arsene Wenger has remained adamant throughout the entire summer that he wants to keep Oxlade-Chamberlain despite his contract situation, but the closer to the deadline we get, it sounds more and more likely that Arsenal will cash in.
Liverpool will hope to take advantage of the situation, as will Chelsea, and so perhaps aside from the fee being agreed, it will be down to the player himself to decide whether it’s Jurgen Klopp or Antonio Conte who can get the best out of him moving forward.