Liverpool in pole position to sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after Arsenal midfielder snubs Chelsea move
Arsenal accepted an offer of £40m from Chelsea for the 24-year-old, but he would rather sign for Liverpool and play in central midfield instead
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Your support makes all the difference.Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has turned down a move to Chelsea after Arsenal accepted an offer of £40m for the 24-year-old England international.
It is understood that Oxlade-Chamberlain rejected the chance to join the Premier League champions because he believes the club want to play him at wing-back rather than in central midfield, which is his preferred position.
His decision to snub a move to Antonio Conte’s side leaves the path clear for Liverpool to sign the player, with Arsenal expecting a bid from the side before the summer transfer window slams shut at 11pm tomorrow.
But if an offer does not come, the player will see out the rest of his contract at the Emirates before leaving on a free next summer.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has been at Arsenal since joining from Southampton in 2011 and Wenger said just last week that the 24-year-old will be "one of the big English players in the coming years".
Despite that, it appears Oxlade-Chamberlain has determined his future lies away from Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Manchester City remain hopeful they will complete a cash-only deal with Arsenal for Alexis Sanchez before Thursday, and are not interested in a part-exchange involving either Raheem Sterling or Sergio Aguero.
Tuesday morning saw direct contact between the clubs regarding the Chilean after weeks of back-channel activity, although Arsenal’s stance remains that they will not sell - at least not unless a player comes the other way.
City however are not interested in that and have already said “no” to the idea of letting Sterling or Aguero leave, and believe they can put together the kind of cash offer that will ultimately persuade Arsenal to sell.
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