Chelsea have reportedly joined the race to sign Arsenal star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but will have to beat out competition from Liverpool and Manchester City.
The 23-year-old has just 12 months remaining on his current contract, and so Arsenal may well have a serious problem on their hands having failed to get him to commit to a long-term deal before this point.
Having shown his class and versatility last season, making 45 appearances in all competitions and scoring six goals while providing 11 assists, Oxlade-Chamberlain finally put his injury troubles behind him for the most part and was able to step up and emerge as one of Arsenal’s top performers.
However, all that has seemingly alerted direct rivals to his situation at the Emirates too, with Chelsea joining Liverpool and Man City as interested parties should he leave the Gunners this summer or next, as per The Mirror.
It begs the question as to how Arsenal haven’t already secured his long-term future, and they now risk losing him because of the delays in getting a deal over the line.
On the other hand, there is a theory that this could be more strategic from Oxlade-Chamberlain’s agent. It seems quite timely that interest is growing in his client as his contract runs down, and so this is certainly adding pressure on Arsenal to offer an attractive deal in order to get the England international to commit his future.
The last thing Arsenal want is to start losing their best players to direct rivals again, and so while there hasn’t seemed to be a sense of urgency thus far, perhaps these latest rumours will kick them into action sooner rather than later.