With just a year left on his contract, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is set to consider his options, as he continues to spend time on the Arsenal fringes. The player has himself revealed that he is unhappy when he is not playing and he is approaching that time in his career when he needs to play more regular football.
Though he has not been offered a contract extension by Arsenal, the club may contemplate the option of selling him sooner rather than later, given it took them £12m to sign the player from Southampton back in 2011. With the 2016-17 season coming to an end, a number of Premier League and to-be-promoted Championship managers are keeping an eye on the player and one of them in Everton manager, Ronald Koeman.
The Toffees are sitting just a place outside the top 6 spot, 7 points adrift Manchester United. The 23-year old is said to have impressed Ronald Koeman and he will grasp any opportunities to sign the player from Arsenal.
Standing at 1.8 meters, the player can play anywhere in the midfield but his opportunities have been limited to substitute appearances in the Premier League with Arsenal. He has still managed to score 2 goals and set up another 4 for his team from those opportunities. Though he has 81.2% pass accuracy, the player doesn’t seem to be too good in the air winning only one aerial duel every two matches, which is quite an important attribute in the Premier League.
The team from Merseyside has recently strengthened themselves by recruiting Morgan Schneiderlin from Manchester United in the winter transfer window and already have experience in the likes of Ross Barkley and former England International, Aaron Lennon in the midfield. However, Koeman may approach to sign Chamberlain, only if Everton play extra games next season by qualifying for the Europa League, which seems a possibility and will require squad rotation.
With the Premier League getting tougher increasingly, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be a huge boost to the Toffees, given his ability to natural ability to operate on the wings. He has the noted abilities to send in ground crosses, through balls and likes to do lay-offs for his target-men to find the net.
Even if Everton fails to qualify for the Europa League next season, Koeman should push to sign Chamberlain, as their season has faltered for the last three seasons after showing initial promise. They have secured 5th place in the 2013-14 season, before finishing outside the top 10 in the next two consecutive seasons. Only time will tell us if the deal is going to happen and Everton then challenge for a place in Europe.
