Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was one of the most exciting talents in lower league football last season, helping Southampton win promotion to the Championship. But whilst the Saints are preparing themselves for a season in the second tier, their star winger has admitted he wants to go one better and play in the Premier League next season. But is the 17-year-old taking too much of a risk by trying to engineer a move to England’s top tier too young?
Oxlade-Chamberlain enjoyed a very successful first full season with Southampton, scoring ten goals and playing an integral role in the Saints’ promotion. As is natural for a winger Oxlade-Chamberlain has plenty of pace and is willing to run at defenders. Last season’s demolition of many League One defenders earned him a place in the league’s Team of the Year for the 2010/11 season. As well as being an exciting prospect for Southampton, his talents have not gone unnoticed by England and he has made several appearances at youth level for his country.
But instead of planning for a season in the Championship, Oxlade-Chamberlain has made it clear that he wants to play in the Premier League sooner rather than later. He admitted that he wanted to make the move before he loses the opportunity to play at the top level. The chance for him to leave Southampton and join the Premier League draws instant comparisons to two previous Saint’s graduates. Theo Walcott burst onto the scene on the south coast and at 16 moved to Arsenal whilst Gareth Bale left Southampton when he was 17 to join Spurs.
Whilst both players are forging successful careers in the Premier League, Oxlade-Chamberlain should take warning from the fact that neither player has made a smooth transition into the Premier League. Bale may have enjoyed a hugely successful season at Spurs last year and has established himself as one of the best talents across Europe but his time at Spurs hasn’t all been as good. Initially Bale struggled to make any impact in London with his career struggling to reach it’s potential heights. But an upturn in form and a move to the left wing has seen Bale really develop as a player.
Walcott made the move to Tottenham’s London rivals Arsenal even younger at only 16. It was a bold move from both Arsenal and Walcott and whilst he is still young, Walcott has failed to consistently perform in an Arsenal shirt. Much (perhaps too much) was expected of him and whilst he has enjoyed successful spells with the Gunners (and England), Theo has failed to hold down a first team place and there are doubts over what his best position is.
Arsenal are reported to be chasing Oxlade-Chamberlain but their previous bid of £8million with add-ons was rejected. Despite him stating that he wants to move, there are doubts as to whether Arsenal or another Premier League team will come back with a bigger bid for the teenager. If he does stay Oxlade-Chamberlain can continue to develop on a regular first-team basis amongst the players that have helped his career flourish so far. Moving to a top four side sounds like a glamorous jump but it is a big step for a 17-year-old to make and there is no guarantee of first-team opportunities. A highly competitive Championship season may be the best place for him to develop his game.
There is no doubting Oxlade-Chamberlain’s talent and potential but I think he could learn from the examples of Walcott and Bale. He has every chance of making the same impact in the Premier League in the future as both former Southampton graduates but in my view both Bale and Walcott could be have used another year at Southampton before they made their moves and Oxlade-Chamberlain is no different.
Written by Jenny Kerwood for FootballFancast.com. If you want to read more of my bite size, 160 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5
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is he really worth the salt?getting jaded over the endless link to my beloved gooners.maybe a move for him would give a jump start to the carriers of underperfoming players.