Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann feels Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s time at Anfield is up, and despite Jürgen Klopp’s comments, it’s hard to disagree.
Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been the surprise beneficiary of Liverpool’s mini injury crisis in attack.
With Luis Díaz, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino all out injured, Klopp turned to the little-used 29-year-old to play on the left-hand side of his 4-3-3 system in the games against Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Klopp had, due to the injury to Díaz, fielded a 4-3-1-2 formation in order to bring the best out of Firmino. The system switch worked, but with the Brazilian also on the shelf, Klopp resorted to his usual 4-3-3 system.
Many might have assumed that Fábio Carvalho would have got the nod to play on the left against Villa, but the former Fulham man didn’t exactly excel in the same role against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup defeat despite scoring.
So it was Oxlade-Chamberlain who got the nod, and Klopp seemed happy with his contribution in the game.
“First and foremost, Ox is a brilliant player and he is an even better person so I know about the situation but the situation for a professional footballer comes in from time to time,” Klopp said afterwards.
“We can’t think too much about the summer but Ox is fit and back and he was back before the break but not 100 per cent fit then, now he is.
“He’s had top, top preparations and unfortunately he got ill before the City game so he would’ve started there. Hopefully he can keep that shape going. We would be happy for that and the future would be bright for everybody.”
Not everyone was happy with how the English midfielder performed, with former Liverpool player Didi Hamann saying that he wasn’t overly impressed with his performance.
“Oxlade-Chamberlain did OK today but I think his time is up as well,” he told Stadium Astro.
There were glints of the old Oxlade-Chamberlain in the game against Villa, but by and large, he didn’t do much to convince Klopp to give him another crack at starting on the left-hand side ahead of the game against Leicester on Friday.
Even though he’s been on the periphery of things for Liverpool in 2022, when he’s been given a chance by Klopp to try and persuade him that he still has a future at the club, he hasn’t made the most of his opportunity.
Coincidentally, his best performances for Liverpool this year came when he was stationed on the opposite flank, filling in for Mohamed Salah when the Egyptian was at AFCON.
With his contract about to enter its final six months, the chances of Oxlade-Chamberlain remaining past the end of this season are remarkably slim.
He might get the odd chance between now and the end of the season, but it would be a major surprise if Oxlade-Chamberlain did not end up leaving Anfield on a free. With the signing of Cody Gakpo, his chances are only going to become even more limited.
Source : www.liverpool.com
