Paul Merson has stated that Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could return to international football after two years, as he told Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports.
The Sky pundit stated that Oxlade-Chamberlain is a ‘manager’s dream’ and he could play for England at the World Cup in Qatar if he plays ‘consistently’ from now until, at least, the end of the season.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has played 514 minutes of Premier League football this term and with the Premier League yet to be at the halfway stage, he’s already smashed the minutes he earned last season (244).
In midweek, he produced another outstanding display for his side, as they beat a tricky Newcastle side 3-1, including a stunning long-range effort from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
With the fixtures coming thick and fast, it will be interesting if the ex-Arsenal man keeps his place in the XI against Spurs today.
But Merson thinks the versatile midfielder is someone who is ‘priceless’ to the manager and in with a real chance to return to international football.
“I think if he plays consistently now,” said Merson. “Then I think he will have every chance of going to the World Cup.
“He’s a manager’s dream. When you are picking a squad of 20 odd players and he can play in a few positions. That is priceless to a manager.”
It has been over two years since Oxlade-Chamberlain last put on that Three Lions shirt – against Kosovo in a European qualifier in 2019.
Since then, England have gone up another level and the competition within the squad, especially in the final third, has also grown.
Even if the Southampton academy product is playing and performing on a weekly basis, it’s not going to be easy getting ahead some high-quality performers for England now.
It also depends on how Gareth Southgate sees him, if he looks at him as a player who can play a deeper role than he’s competing with the likes of Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Kalvin Phillips for places.
If it’s further up the field, then his life is much tougher because of the number of goalscoring ball-carriers pushing for those England places.
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