Jurgen Klopp defends Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain amid questions over Liverpool future

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Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is at a real crossroads in his career.

The Reds splashed out £35million to sign Oxlade-Chamberlain from Arsenal in 2017, and it seemed like a great move.

Oxlade-Chamberlain had stalled at Arsenal, and he was heading to a high-energy style under Jurgen Klopp which seemed to suit him to the ground.

He could also play in midfield as he wanted, whilst offering depth out wide if needed, so the move seemed ideal at the time.

Almost four years on, we’re still waiting to see Oxlade-Chamberlain become a consistent contributor for Liverpool.

The 27-year-old has managed 102 games for Liverpool, but only notched 13 goals and 11 assists in that time, with injury and inconsistent minutes hampering him.

Some have wondered whether Liverpool may cash in Oxlade-Chamberlain this summer with just two years left on his contract.

Klopp has now attempted to throw some backing behind Oxlade-Chamberlain, telling Four Four Two that this is just as important of a summer for the midfielder as it is for anyone else at Anfield.

Klopp suggested that Oxlade-Chamberlain is training really well, and he has been a victim of Liverpool trying to keep a settled side given the chaos in defence this season rather than him not being good enough or anything like that.

“The summer is important for all of us, and for Ox it’s exactly the same,” sasd Klopp. “When you don’t start games, then you have to use each training session and each minute on the pitch in a game to convince. I don’t have to be convinced, to be honest, but it’s about showing up in these kind of situations.”

“Oxlade had really good moments. He trains really well. These situations are not easy; for Naby [Keita] it is not easy, for Shaq [Xherdan Shaqiri] it is not easy, for some other players as well. I know that. But during the season, a lot of things happened. The one thing we tried to get, and when we got it we tried to keep it, was balance and rhythm, stability. That means that you don’t change these positions too often. That’s it, pretty much,” he added.