Graeme Souness: This is why 24-year-old snubbed Chelsea to sign for Liverpool FC
Graeme Souness claims that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain chose to join Liverpool ahead of Chelsea because he wants to play in midfield
Graeme Souness has claimed that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain chose to join Liverpool ahead of Chelsea because he didn’t want to play as a wing-back for the Premier League champions.
The 24-year-old midfielder ended up sealing a transfer to Anfield on deadline day after Liverpool agreed a fee believed to be worth around £35m for the player.
However, the move came after Chelsea also agreed a fee with Arsenal for the midfielder but a move to Stamford Bridge didn’t materialise because the player favoured a switch elsewhere.
Oxlade-Chamberlain started all three of Arsenal’s Premier League games in the unfamiliar wing-back role for the Gunners.
And former Liverpool star Souness claims that the former Southampton man chose Anfield over Stamford Bridge because he knew he would be able to play in midfield for the Reds.
Souness wrote in his column for the Sunday Times: “Oxlade-Chamberlain chose Liverpool rather than Chelsea because he did not want to be a wing-back.
“He sees himself dropping the shoulder and going past people in the central midfield area. I don’t see him as a wing-back either. He is the wrong shape for it.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain will be hoping to make his first appearance for Liverpool when the Reds take on Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The midfielder is currently on international duty with England before he heads up to Merseyside for the first time as a Liverpool player.
