Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal)

Not one I'm particularly excited about, but much of that is due to his injuries.  If he stays fit, he'll be a useful player.  He can play down either flank or through the middle, he's got the speed and skill to beat a man off the dribble, and the strength and aggression to mix it up physically.  If Klopp wants him, then I hope we get him. 

If he's not an alternative to Keita, fine, but if he is, just ridiculous.

It is mate.

He's the second choice target after Keite.

At a third of the price.

Makes FSG sense.

Bingo, it makes FSG sense. But if get VVD and sign him I would think we would all be happier than the last few years. And if he manages to stay healthy who knows!

Do Arse need the £25 mill to go towards  signing Laccazette.
If so let's save the £25 mill, put another £25 mill with it, and get Laccazette instead !

Injuries will always be the big risk factor in this deal if it goes ahead BUT £25 million in this market for Ox is not a bad piece of business and if he could keep himself fit it could be a steal.

Quite a few in here quick to put him down but how many of you really watch(ed) him? He's a pretty decent player. He's quick and strong, has a nice shape to his crosses, takes opportunities to run with the ball whenever he gets an opportunity (something we completely lacked last season when Mane was not available), he's not a bad little passer of a ball and he also has some defensive awareness and discipline when he plays in the wide role.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhAgokZhPmY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah76mIQmc6Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrwg5G6_6c0

Well I think he's a good player, obviously just me.

Nope. I think he is a good player too and Klopp will make him better than he is now.

If we were in a position where we were happy with our first XI then I'd go for this to add a little depth to the squad.

But we aren't, we need players who are definitely ready to come in and make a difference to our first team and the Ox won't do that in my mind.

If we were in a position where we were happy with our first XI then I'd go for this to add a little depth to the squad.

But we aren't, we need players who are definitely ready to come in and make a difference to our first team and the Ox won't do that in my mind.

Hard to disagree with that.  Especially when it could be £25M taken away from a potential first team player. 

Injuries will always be the big risk factor in this deal if it goes ahead BUT £25 million in this market for Ox is not a bad piece of business and if he could keep himself fit it could be a steal.

Quite a few in here quick to put him down but how many of you really watch(ed) him? He's a pretty decent player. He's quick and strong, has a nice shape to his crosses, takes opportunities to run with the ball whenever he gets an opportunity (something we completely lacked last season when Mane was not available), he's not a bad little passer of a ball and he also has some defensive awareness and discipline when he plays in the wide role.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhAgokZhPmY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah76mIQmc6Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrwg5G6_6c0

Admit it, you just like seeing him in those tight shirts

Admit it, you just like seeing him in those tight shirts

Haha seriously though, I suspect a lot in here have simply jumped on the band wagon ie. injury prone, not good enough for Arsenal so not good enough for us, wouldn't improve our starting 11 etc. But i'll tell ya what, there were plenty of games last season when I would have had Ox in ahead of Can, or Lucas, or Gigi. And once Mane was injured you can guarantee a player like Ox would have started most games out wide and would have spared us watching Origi play completely shi...te for the last 15 games of the season. For me, at £25 million it represents pretty decent value in a market that has gone crazy and he would make us better. Doesn't mean I don't want this other lad Keita as well though!

And a fookin striker PLEASE! That's what we need. A bloody number 9!!!!!!!! More than any other position on the pitch.

Haha seriously though, I suspect a lot in here have simply jumped on the band wagon ie. injury prone, not good enough for Arsenal so not good enough for us, wouldn't improve our starting 11 etc. But i'll tell ya what, there were plenty of games last season when I would have had Ox in ahead of Can, or Lucas, or Gigi. And once Mane was injured you can guarantee a player like Ox would have started most games out wide and would have spared us watching Origi play completely shi...te for the last 15 games of the season. For me, at £25 million it represents pretty decent value in a market that has gone crazy and he would make us better. Doesn't mean I don't want this other lad Keita as well though!

And a fookin striker PLEASE! That's what we need. A bloody number 9!!!!!!!! More than any other position on the pitch.

Are you seriously suggesting Ox is a better midfielder than the guys you mentioned?
If so you need to watch him a few more times play as a CM.

As a wide player fair do's but if he is coming here as a CM I would have serious concerns.

Admit it, you just like seeing him in those tight shirts

He is a yoked lil rascal. Ox is fitting nick name

Are you seriously suggesting Ox is a better midfielder than the guys you mentioned?
If so you need to watch him a few more times play as a CM.

As a wide player fair do's but if he is coming here as a CM I would have serious concerns.

I think he would play in a variety of positions mate and if you listen to his interview with Matt Smith and Stevie after the cup final he said as much when they asked him about playing as a wing-back as he did in the final. As for where Klopp would play him I'm not certain. I think he can obviously play a traditional wide role, he can also play as wing-back in a 5 if we wanted to go that way and despite him still being quite green as a CM he would certainly give us something different in there against the bus parkers. No offence to Henderson, Can and Gigi but they do not really effect the game against opposition that sits in two backs on the edge of their box. Our play (despite an improvement in results) from March to the end of the season was stagnant, lots of possession for the sake of possession and then impatience would creep in and we'd lose the ball. Our CMs are all too similar to each-other, they are too safe, too many of them turn in 7/10 performances week in week out when we need 8s and 9s from them (or at least from one of them). I'm not sure why the idea of Ox at CM gets laughed out of town so quickly when it's clear our own midfield is functional at best and only really come to the party when we're playing against better opposition who are willing to come out of the bunker to play. 

Could just be a hurry up to RB Leipzig, we seen the same with Roma, Salah with Gelson Martins, same with Southampton, VVD with De Vrij before we completely fu**ed that up.

I'll wait and see where we are once our shopping is done.

I think he would play in a variety of positions mate and if you listen to his interview with Matt Smith and Stevie after the cup final he said as much when they asked him about playing as a wing-back as he did in the final. As for where Klopp would play him I'm not certain. I think he can obviously play a traditional wide role, he can also play as wing-back in a 5 if we wanted to go that way and despite him still being quite green as a CM he would certainly give us something different in there against the bus parkers. No offence to Henderson, Can and Gigi but they do not really effect the game against opposition that sits in two backs on the edge of their box. Our play (despite an improvement in results) from March to the end of the season was stagnant, lots of possession for the sake of possession and then impatience would creep in and we'd lose the ball. Our CMs are all too similar to each-other, they are too safe, too many of them turn in 7/10 performances week in week out when we need 8s and 9s from them (or at least from one of them). I'm not sure why the idea of Ox at CM gets laughed out of town so quickly when it's clear our own midfield is functional at best and only really come to the party when we're playing against better opposition who are willing to come out of the bunker to play. 

How do you suggest Ox will be better in midfield?
He certainly doesn't have the skill set or experience!

Sounds a bit like Milner - he can play CM when in reality he can't at the highest level and I suspect neither can Ox.

How do you suggest Ox will be better in midfield?
He certainly doesn't have the skill set or experience!

Sounds a bit like Milner - he can play CM when in reality he can't at the highest level and I suspect neither can Ox.

Sometimes different is better. Our lads are all too similar. Can, Henderson, Gigi, Lucas - They have a very similar skill-set, they all like a tackle, they're all hard-working, they are all half-decent passers of a ball but generally keep it safe, they are all technically solid but none of them really excel in this, none of them can really beat a player (Can does it on the odd occasion), none of them is particularly comfortable carrying the ball (again Can does every now and then) and none of them really score enough goals. Klopp putting Lallana in the middle of the park raised a few eyebrows at the start of the season but it proved a master-stroke because he offered something different ie. he plays on the half-turn and is always looking to play forward, he has very quick feet, great control in tight areas of the pitch, draws a lot of fouls and he moves the ball quickly.

I'm not saying Ox would be as successful but he would/could bring some new skills to our otherwise functional midfield. He's a powerful little player who is tough to knock off the ball, he will carry the ball whenever the opportunity arises and he'll create many of those opportunities himself. We need someone who can offer this threat in a central area to break the lines of the opposition. We're too easy to defend against, we saw it countless times last season. You need players with skill who can beat the first man thus forcing the next man to come and put pressure on the ball, we don't have enough of them, not nearly enough. Having someone in midfield with the skill-set and desire to run at teams and force them out of their shape would do us some good, particularly if we're not going to strengthen up top (and I'm not sure that we are). Also, given that Jürgen likes a total philosophy with players popping up all over the place I am sure Ox would find regularly fund himself in an inside-right or wide-right position at times in games and he is pretty decent crossed of a ball.

As for the Milner comparison it's a valid one but I suspect that Ox can bring a bit more to the position than Milner can because he offers a genuine threat to beat a player.

We're not spending £60 million on this lad everyone is raging about in the other thread. Let's face facts. £25 million for Ox is deffo worth the punt in my eyes.

Do like him to be fair. Opens up a lot of options for us - gives us pace and width even when Salah/Mane are rested or injured, allows us to consider 3 at the back with wing backs and also the idea of having him at the tip of a diamond like we did with Sterling a few years ago.

Not sure about him playing regularly in central midfield though, he's looked poor there for Arsenal and had a horror show in a recent England game (but to be fair what was Southgate thinking playing him in the Kante role?). Injuries obviously a concern too.

To come in to add depth across multiple positions? Yes. Alternative to Keita? No.

I'm a bit baffled why everyone is so negative about this, if he was to be our only signing of the summer then I agree it would be sh*t but he's obviously being brought in, if it happens, to give us an extra dimension and depth to the team, how is that a bad thing?

Do like him to be fair. Opens up a lot of options for us - gives us pace and width even when Salah/Mane are rested or injured, allows us to consider 3 at the back with wing backs and also the idea of having him at the tip of a diamond like we did with Sterling a few years ago.

Not sure about him playing regularly in central midfield though, he's looked poor there for Arsenal and had a horror show in a recent England game (but to be fair what was Southgate thinking playing him in the Kante role?). Injuries obviously a concern too.

To come in to add depth across multiple positions? Yes. Alternative to Keita? No.

Agree with you on the benefit of him being able to play in a number of positions but I'm still struggling to see

Aside from mis management at international level (Southgate - ) I do recall him coming on as a sub against Tottenham earlier this year and he stank the place out. Couldn't cross or pass for toffee. But then I remember he's only 23 years old but on the flip side his fitness record is poor. Just too many question marks for me but if someone will make it work then Klopp is that man.

edit: Rumours that he would be bought via money brought in from transfers of Markovic and co. If so - that's ain't half bad. Would seem like a free buy on that basis...that's if the core 'war chest' of money that we're led to believe is still there for other buys without the need for selling.

The fee puts a LOT in perspective and makes the idea plausible to me even after scraming at our economist fans for watching the finance side of things too much with regards to paying the current inflated prices. .

This proves the recent immediate add-on of  30/40/50% on current players since it the influx of cash into the league.
Remove that recent trend of inflation and we have a 15 mil player which to my ears is correct.

A cynical money making ploy by fsg, look at how much having his name on your back will cost, bas**rds

If he can stay fit and if he's ok with being a squad player like he was at Arsenal then it's a no brainer.

Two big IF's though.

He's seeking assurances about first team football at Arsenal. He'll be given enough, and will sign a new contract there.

A lucky escape for us  - he's simply not that good, not even at £20-25m.