Little Mix pull not enough to bring Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Newcastle United as Liverpool star finds club

Former Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has opted for a move to Turkey over Tyneside despite links to Newcastle United this summer.

The 29-year-old was released by Liverpool this summer and has been on the search for a new club since then. The Daily Mail reported that Aston Villa, Brighton and Newcastle United were all in for the Englishman, leaving him with a trio of options to stay in the Premier League.

It wasn't confirmed that the Magpies, who landed a new winger in Harvey Barnes this summer, had made a formal enquiry to sign Oxlade-Chamerlain on a free transfer but the star would have had extra incentive to move to the North East given his relationship with Geordie Little Mix star Perrie Edwards.

The couple, who are engaged and have a one-year-old son called Axel, have been living in Cheshire while Oxlade-Chamberlain was on the books at Anfield in a plush £3.5 million mansion.

No longer needing to be in the area, it was thought an offer from Newcastle United with the chance to move his family back to Edwards' home of the North East could've swayed the pacey winger this summer - the singer's former Little Mix colleague, who owns local bar Arbeia and is Honourary President at South Shields FC, is often seen in the area.

Edwards was born and raised in South Shields before moving to Dorset as a child. The star came back up to Newcastle and studied Performing Arts at Newcastle College.

With Little Mix on hiatus, Edwards is known to be working on new material ahead of launching her hotly-anticipated solo career in the near future.

Instead of an expected Premier League move, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano reports that Oxlade-Chamberlain is on the verge of signing a three-year deal at Besiktas in Turkey after he was spotted arriving in the country. The Super Lig club have already signed former top-flight stars in Daniel Amartey and Arthur Masuaku this summer.

Oxlade-Chamberlain broke through at Southampton in 2010 and went on to make 198 appearances for Arsenal and 146 for Liverpool. He won three FA Cup trophies and three Community Shields with the Gunners before adding a Premier League title, a Carabao Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup to his trophy cabinet while at Anfield.