Garth Crooks believes Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has the opportunity to become Liverpool’s next big midfield star following Philippe Coutinho’s departure.
The BBC pundit revealed when naming his Premier League team of the week that the Liverpool midfielder was finally starting to settle at the club, and showed what he was capable of against Manchester City.
“I’m delighted to see this player finally starting to settle down in his new role at Liverpool,” revealed Crooks.
“What I saw in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s performance against Manchester City was a player who believed in himself again; so much so that the England international went toe to toe with Kevin de Bruyne and came out on top.”
After praising him for his performance against the league leaders, whom he scored against, Crooks questioned whether the 24-year-old could step up in Coutinho’s absence.
“The big question now is can Oxlade-Chamberlain step into Philippe Coutinho’s shoes?” asked the pundit.
“With Steven Gerrard retired and Coutinho now playing for Barcelona, Anfield demands another midfield star.
“Oxlade-Chamberlain has the ability and now the stage to be that star in a way he never had at Arsenal, I wonder if he will seize the opportunity.”
Chamberlain has made 30 appearances for Liverpool this season, scoring four goals, since joining for £35million from Arsenal in the summer.
OPINION
The England international finally looks like being the player, he was once tipped to be. Chamberlain has not even spent a full season under Jurgen Klopp but looks like he’s come on leaps and bounds under the German manager. If pundits would have suggested Chamberlain as being able to replace Coutinho at Liverpool ahead of his move in the summer, they would have been laughed at. However, as the 24-year-old continues to improve, he is realistically able to make Reds fans forgot about the now Barcelona midfielder. It’s frightening to think how good Chamberlain could be in a year’s time with even more lessons learnt from Klopp.