Evening Standard journalist Jack Rosser has ruled out a sensational return to Southampton for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
According to talkSPORT, the Saints were interested in re-signing the midfielder, 10 years after he joined Arsenal as a teenager for £15m.
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Since leaving Southampton, Oxlade-Chamberlain has gone on to play more than 200 times in the Premier League, winning the trophy with Liverpool, plus both the FA Cup and the Champions League.
However, whilst Oxlade-Chamberlain has enjoyed a successful time at Liverpool in terms of silverware, he’s never quite recovered from suffering an ACL in a European match against Roma more than three years ago and played only 244 minutes in the league last season.
He was a surprise starter at Norwich on the opening day, but the 28-year-old is quite some way down the pecking order in a talented Liverpool midfielder department.
However, whilst a switch to Saints would give him the opportunity to play regular football, Rosser told This is Futbol that it’s not financially viable:
“They’re struggling for money; I don’t think they could afford his wages and I don’t think he’s at that point of his career where he’s ready to make the step down.”