Jurgen Klopp says he hates himself for not giving Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain some minutes for Liverpool last night.
The midfielder remained on the bench despite the manager making nine changes against Southampton. And speaking to beIN SPORTS after the game, Klopp made a point of mentioning the rarely-seen midfielder.
“I didn’t bring Oxlade on tonight, it’s unbelievable,” said Klopp. “I hate myself for it, because he’s such a good player, but you have to figure out how it works together.”
By the time Liverpool’s game on Sunday tick around, it will be over two months since Oxlade-Chamberlain saw any kind of game-time.
Falling down the pecking order
Oxlade-Chamberlain is reportedly fearing for his future at Liverpool. As the weeks have gone on, it’s become ever clearer that he is simply no longer in the manager’s plans.
More often than not, the man signed for £35m in 2017 has been left out of the matchday squad completely. That’s the way it was for Saturday’s FA Cup final, which will have come as a bitter blow for the bubbly Ox.
The 28-year-old is usually one of the loudest and most positive voices in the dressing-room. But as the celebrations got underway following the shootout victory over Chelsea, he was largely notable only by his absence.
If Ox can’t get in the team when so many changes are being made, it says everything about where he stands right now.
Ox’s Liverpool career winds down
There has been little said about his continuous exclusion, as Liverpool simply keep on winning. Harmony reigns in the dressing room, there is no need to disrupt that as The Reds take their quadruple quest to the last day of the season.
However, it’s difficult not to wonder if something has gone on behind the scenes. Oxlade-Chamberlain’s reaction to coming off in his last game against Nottingham Forest may have sealed his fate for the rest of the season.
As it stands, that could well be his last game for the club after a mixed half-decade. Liverpool have seen unbridled success since the England man joined in 2017. Oxlade-Chamberlain has often been on the periphery of that though.
If he does move on this summer, he’ll be remembered well for his contributions to the successes under Klopp. He was much-used during the title-winning season of 2019/20 and was in the Carabao Cup Team of the Season this year.
Ultimately though, when looking back on Ox’s Liverpool career, it’ll feel like a case of what could have been.
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