West Ham have made a ‘soft inquiry’ for Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as they seek a Jesse Lingard replacement.
The Hammers have been linked with a move for Lingard who enjoyed a highly successful six months at the club on loan.
Liverpool have no shortage of midfielders in their squad which has only grown since the arrival of Fabio Carvalho from Fulham.
Despite most of their business being conducted already, there is potential for them to sell one or two fringe players before the window shuts.
🚨 NEW: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is on course to be out of contract next summer and his future beyond 2023 is uncertain, but Jurgen Klopp still sees him as part of his plans for the coming campaign. #lfc [the athletic] pic.twitter.com/iR5gNwVOKC
— Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) July 20, 2022
Latest links with West Ham
According to West Ham Central, the East-London club has made a ‘soft enquiry’ over the potential signing of the 28-year-old Englishman.
The outlet claim that the 28-year-old is viewed as an alternative to Lingard and mentions a figure of around £10M as a possible transfer value.
Chamberlain, 28, has struggled for game time in recent seasons only playing 787 in the league last season.
While Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is open to a new challenge away from Liverpool, the club are unlikely to push for a sale, with Jurgen Klopp unwilling to weaken his squad anymore going into the season. [@DExpress_Sport] pic.twitter.com/MOuolpolyF
— Anfield Edition (@AnfieldEdition) July 12, 2022
In addition, Fabrizio Romano claimed that Chamberlain leaving was a possibility, as he said on his Daily Briefing with Caught Offside: “Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could be one to watch. He has received approaches, but there are no official offers on the Liverpool table yet.”
One issue, however, is that he did suffer an injury setback in their pre-season game against Crystal Palace but Jurgen Klopp told Liverpool FC’s official website: “I don’t know exactly how long it will take but he will be back and then it’s all fine.”
The midfielder has 17 goals and 15 assists from his 133 games for Liverpool – with his best moments coming against Manchester City in both the Premier League and Champions League in the 2017/18 season.
Potential replacements for Oxlade-Chamberlain
http://gty.im/1409799296
If Oxlade-Chamberlain was to leave, it could open the door for a midfield replacement – a position that Liverpool have been regularly linked with this summer.
With Liverpool’s midfield showing signs of unreliability in terms of niggling injuries – the likes of Thiago, Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita have all gone missing at regular intervals during the last two seasons.
The Reds have been heavily linked with Matheus Nunes, who could make the move to Liverpool if they part ways with Chamberlain.
Other targets include Aston Villa’s Carney Chukwuemeka as well as Amadou Onana – both who could be solid replacements for the defensive midfield position and would both be fit and ready to play most weeks of the season.
