Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is fighting fit again after a very lengthy layoff for Liverpool.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has told Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain that he’s going to have to be patient.
The former Arsenal star, a £40 million signing two years ago [The Guardian], has started the Reds’ last two games but has posted different performances in each.
Against Chelsea in the Super Cup last week, Oxlade-Chamberlain, making his first start in a competitive game since April 2018, struggled and the Liverpool manager hooked him at half-time.
But the German started him again in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Southampton and the 26-year-old looked far better than he did in Istanbul against the Blues, with Klopp saying afterwards that he was ‘outstandingly good’.
Having been missing for so long, it’ll take the England international a while longer before he is performing to his pre-injury standard.
And Klopp says that it’s vital for Oxlade-Chamberlain to know this.
He told The Mirror: “He needs to be patient in the right way, and everything will be fine 100 per cent. We only talk about Ox because everybody knows how good he is.
“We need to make sure that he can show that on the pitch as well. When I make the decision that he is now ready then it is my responsibility of course, and the boy only has to try to do his best. That’s what Ox obviously did.”
In terms of talent, Oxlade-Chamberlain is a class act, but he has always had injury problems and the sooner he conquers them for good, the more time he’ll have to prove his class.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
