Liverpool have snapped up Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from Arsenal.
Pundit Gary Neville has told Sky Sports that he doesn’t think Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain strengthens Liverpool’s starting line-up – and warned him that he will ‘have to be a man’ when he plays at Anfield.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, 24, appeared to be heading for Chelsea last week, after the Blues agreed a deal to sign the England international, with Arsenal prepared to cash in given that his contract would be expiring at the end of the season.
However, the midfielder snubbed a move to Stamford Bridge as he wanted to join Liverpool, and he did get his wish on deadline day, as he penned a five-year deal with the Reds – with The Guardian reporting that the fee involved is £40million.
That’s a huge price tag for Liverpool to be paying, especially as his move came just days after Oxlade-Chamberlain suffered a dismal performance in Arsenal’s 4-0 defeat away at Anfield.
After the international break, Oxlade-Chamberlain will be hoping to kickstart his Liverpool career in the trip to Manchester City, though it’s unclear right now whether Jurgen Klopp sees him as a winger or as a midfielder, though either would be better than playing him as a wing back, where he was featuring for Arsenal.
Now, having seen Oxlade-Chamberlain make his move, pundit and former England coach Gary Neville has offered his view to Sky Sports, claiming that he doesn’t really improve the Liverpool starting line-up.
Neville believes that the former Southampton youngster does improve Klopp’s squad, but must improve in a host of areas, from his concentration to his professionalism, and from his injury record to his end product in terms of goals and assists.
Neville even added that moving to Liverpool takes Oxlade-Chamberlain out of his comfort zone, telling him that Liverpool is not a place for the faint-hearted, warning him that he must ‘be a man’ when he heads to Anfield, believing the coming months will tell fans a lot about Liverpool’s new signing and his mentality.
Gary Neville
“He doesn’t get in the best XI,” said Neville. “Coutinho, Can, Henderson, Lallana, Salah, Firmino all play in front of him. Everyone seems to eulogising over him in the last 24 hours, but he doesn’t get in the best XI and strengthen their team. He does, however, strengthen their squad – he’s a player who could play in Jurgen Klopp’s style. He’s got a huge amount of talent and is a decent lad but he has three or four areas of his game which he has to significantly improve. The biggest being his focus and concentration and being a really top professional. I think his injury record is poor, too, he’ll need to work hard to stay fit. Also, his impact in terms of his assists and goals. With the Champions League and Premier League, he’ll be an asset for the squad.”
“If you had said to me six months ago that you’d get £40m for Oxlade-Chamberlain, you’d snap your hand off – you’d say it’s a brilliant deal [for Arsenal]. Now, we’re almost thinking Liverpool have a got a brilliant deal – I’m not sure why that’s shifted the opinion as he’s still got to prove himself. He wants to do well, but he needs to step up from being in a comfort zone. Liverpool will take him out of that – it’s not a place for the faint hearted, they won’t carry passengers, they won’t feel sorry for you. He’ll have to be a man when he goes up there. Ultimately we’ll find out a lot about Oxlade-Chamberlain in the next few months,” he added.
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