Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sealed a £35million move to Liverpool on deadline day.Photo/DM
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, Sep 9 – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain admits that his decision to choose Liverpool over Chelsea was in part motivated by his desire to work with Jurgen Klopp.
The former Arsenal midfielder surprised many by turning down a move to the Premier League champions on transfer deadline day, opting instead to leave London for Liverpool and join Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
Speaking with The Times, the 24-year old revealed that the decision to depart the Emirates was the hardest of his career and that he felt it was necessary if he was to develop as a player.
“I want to get more out of myself,” he stated. “I could have stayed at Arsenal and progressed there maybe – you never know what can happen – but I felt the main thing was taking myself out of my comfort zone and really push myself to achieve as much as I can in a team and a position where I want to progress. That’s why Liverpool shouted out for me.
“Having been someone on the outside looking in, I couldn’t help but notice what the manager is doing here, and wondering what it would be like to play for a character like that,” the England international continued. “He’s very inspirational, passionate, involved and intense. I felt that was something that could gee me up.
“You can see from how the team play how he instils that intensity in the players. I feel like that kick up the backside would be good for me. Just meeting the manager for the first time reinforced that.
“I could tell straight away he’s very warm, very close to the players. The manager can take me up to the next level – I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe that. He sees a lot of good things in me, but he also sees areas that he believes he can push me and develop. That excites me.”
