Liverpool podcaster Ben Johnson has been sharing his thoughts on Reds midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and his role in Jurgen Klopp’s team.
This comes after Johnson recently made an appearance on The Anfield Wrap to look back over Liverpool’s 3-0 pre-season win over VfB Stuttgart at the weekend.
On the topic of Oxlade-Chamberlain and his role in this current Liverpool team, Johnson shared his thoughts on the player.
He said: “I think Oxlade-Chamberlain has almost played himself back into being a winger, in that when he plays in midfield, the last maybe five [or] six times he’s played in centre-midfield, he’s been one of the first to come off.
“Before he got his injury, he was just starting to get a handle on what it was and he was starting to really impact games and really put his name on the first-team and you think, yeah Oxlade-Chamberlain against [Manchester] City in the Champions League was fantastic and since then, when he’s played centrally, he’s struggled and I wonder how much he’s going to play centrally. I think he might be one of the options of left or right-wing.”
The Reds signed Oxlade-Chamberlain back in the 2017 summer transfer window from Arsenal in a deal worth a reported £34.2 million.
Since he joined Jurgen Klopp’s side, the 27-year-old has made a total of 87 appearances for Liverpool across all competitions in which he’s scored 13 goals and provided 10 assists.
However, as Johnson mentioned in the podcast, the midfielder, who is currently valued at £25.2 million, has had a few injury problems throughout his time at Liverpool, including a big cruciate ligament rupture that led to him missing 39 matches for the Reds back in April 2018, as Johnson mentioned.
Throughout the previous season, Oxlade-Chamberlain played predominantly in the central-midfield position but also played on the left and right wings when asked.
Which position is Oxlade-Chamberlain best suited to playing?
Central-midfield
On the wing
TIF Thoughts…
The fact that Oxlade-Chamberlain has played in numerous positions for Liverpool just goes to show how versatile a player he is for the Merseyside club.
However, as Johnson mentioned in the podcast, Oxlade-Chamberlain may now be better suited to play in the wing positions rather than predominantly as a central midfielder.
While it would undoubtedly be useful for Liverpool to have a player that can play in numerous positions on the pitch, it’s also important to know which position that specific player is best suited to playing in.