Liverpool Agrees £40m Oxlade-Chamberlain Deal

Liverpool has agreed a £40m deal to sign Arsenal and England midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The 24-year-old rejected a move to Chelsea on Tuesday after a fee had been agreed.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has started each of Arsenal’s four games so far this season despite telling manager Arsene Wenger he would not sign a new contract.

He has made 198 appearances for Arsenal since joining them from Southampton in August 2011.

The fee would have been Liverpool’s club record deal, but the Reds have agreed to sign RB Leipzig’s Naby Keita next summer for £ 48m.

So far this summer, Liverpool has signed winger Mohamed Salah from Roma for £ 34m, full-back Andrew Robertson from Hull for £8m and striker Dominic Solanke after his contract at Chelsea expired.

Liverpool has also been pursuing Monaco’s £75m-rated winger Thomas Lemar and Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk, while the Reds’ Brazil forward Philippe Coutinho remains Barcelona’s number one transfer target.

Belgium striker Divock Origi could leave Anfield and join Bundesliga side Wolfsburg on loan before the transfer window closes today, BBC Sport’s chief football writer Phil McNulty observed yesterday.

The 22-year-old is highly rated by Reds manager Jurgen Klopp but the imminent arrival of OxladeChamberlain from Arsenal means his chances in attack are likely to be restricted this season.

Origi wants regular football throughout Belgium’s build- up to next summer’s World Cup and Liverpool will also be eager to see the talented young forward continue his progress, so it is expected he will leave Anfield before the deadline.