Reports: Arsenal, Liverpool agree £35m transfer fee for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Chelsea’s game of transfer window brinkmanship is set to backfire, as Arsenal jack-of-all-trades Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gets ready to join Liverpool. Chelsea had agreed a £40 million transfer for the 24-year-old, but he rejected the chance to join the Blues. Now Chelsea have barely over 24 hours to find a replacement signing for the man we had hoped would be able provide backup duties at multiple positions.

While Chelsea can’t be held accountable for Oxlade-Chamberlain’s silly decision-making, they can be held accountable for leaving this so late that we now barely have enough time to sign a Papy Djilobodji, let alone a useful player.

As per London Evening Standard Chief Football Correspondent and Arsenal insider James Olley, the Ox will be joining his preferred destination Liverpool instead of Chelsea this summer. The Reds have met the Gunners' asking price after trying to lowball their way into acquiring the 24-year-old, who is keen to join the Anfield side due apparently to his belief that he will feature as a midfielder under manager Jurgen Klopp rather than as a wing-back, which probably would have been his primary role had he picked Stamford Bridge as his destination.

Despite his many flaws, this versatility alone would have made Oxlade-Chamberlain a great acquisition for us this summer. It’s too bad that he wants to keep wearing red, and miss out on winning things.

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