Newcastle United and Aston Villa eye free transfer move for £30m-rated Premier League midfielder

Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is reportedly a free transfer target for Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Brighton and Hove Albion as his time at Anfield draws to a close.

The 35-times capped England midfielder joined the Reds in a £35m move from Arsenal in August 2017 but has suffered a number of injuries that have limited the impact he has made over the last five and a half seasons. That has continued into the current campaign with Oxlade-Chamberlain making just five starts in all competitions for Jurgen Klopp’s side as they battle with Newcastle, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United for a place in next season’s Champions League.

The midfielder’s future on Merseyside remains shrouded in doubt as he heads into the final 12 months of his current deal with the Reds and manager Jurgen Klopp discussed his fitness and future in an interview given after Oxlade-Chamberlain made an appearance in a 3-2 defeat in a Carabao Cup fourth round tie against Manchester City in December.

He told Amazon Prime: “First and foremost Ox is a brilliant player and he is an even better person so I know about the situation but the situation for a professional footballer comes in from time to time. We can’t think too much about the summer but Ox is fit and back and he was back before the break but not 100 per cent fit then, now he is.

“He’s had top, top preparations and unfortunately he got ill before the City game so he would’ve started there. Hopefully he can keep that shape going, we would be happy for that and the future would be bright for everybody.”

The Daily Mail have now suggested Aston Villa, Newcastle and Brighton are ready to make a summer move for Oxlade-Chamberlain when his current deal comes to an end. The report also states the latter of that trio of Premier League clubs had an interest in the midfielder during the January transfer window but didn’t want to pay a fee to take him to the South Coast.