What would a move to Liverpool for Jorginho mean for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s midfield ambition?
Seven months on from his £40 million (Guardian) move from Arsenal to Liverpool and it’s probably fair to say that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hasn’t been a roaring success on Merseyside as of yet.
The 24-year-old has undoubtedly posted some fine performances, some of which made Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger look rather silly for not using him properly – most notably in the 4-3 win over Manchester City in January – but for the most part Oxlade-Chamberlain hasn’t repaid his sizeable transfer fee.
Inconsistency dogged his six-year spell in North London and a series of disappointing performances and cameos since the win over Pep Guardiola’s side has given rise to suggestions that the same issues might just have followed him to Anfield.
He joined Liverpool with the intention of playing in a central midfield role under Jurgen Klopp, having spent so long on the wing under Wenger, but would the German manager send a pretty obvious message to him by signing Jorginho this summer?
According to The Times, Liverpool are interested in signing the Napoli midfielder as a replacement for Emre Can and surely his potential arrival would indicate that Klopp does not view Oxlade-Chamberlain as a future midfield star, cut from the same cloth as his idol Steven Gerrard.
He has played nine games in a central role this season according to Transfermarkt, but if Klopp saw a long-term role for him in that position then surely he wouldn’t sign Jorginho, one of the best deep-lying playmakers in the business.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is still a massive talent who could be a huge star in football, but not from central midfield and Jorginho’s arrival might well kill that dream completely.
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