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Manchester United legend Roy Keane has claimed Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's career has stalled due to injury.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, 28, joined Liverpool in August 2017 for £34.2 million from Arsenal, with Reds manager Jurgen Klopp keen on the midfielder's versatility.
Oxlade-Chamberlain was previously a winger before Klopp converted him into a central midfielder.
Despite a promising start to life at Anfield, injuries soon hampered his progression under Klopp. He has seen his place in the squad taken by the likes of Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita and Thiago Alcantara.
Keane touched on the England midfielder's woes for Klopp's side. He told ITV (via Daily Mirror):
“Injury problems. He (Oxlade-Chamberlain) is now, what 28? His career has stalled over the last years. He has been left behind a little bit. But a quality player.”
Since joining Liverpool, the midfielder has only conjured up 232 appearances in just over four years. He has scored 17 goals and contributed 14 assists during that time.
Did Oxlade-Chamberlain make the wrong decision leaving Arsenal for Liverpool?
When Oxlade-Chamberlain declined a new £180,000 deal with the Gunners in 2017 many Arsenal fans were in disbelief. This was a 23-year-old player who had been developed by then-manager Arsene Wenger.
But Liverpool were on the rise and Klopp's pull, who was just getting started at Anfield, was enough to turn the Englishman's head.
Yet the heights of Ox's career still come from his time at the Emirates, where he played an important role in the latter years of Wenger's reign.
For Arsenal, Ox scored 20 goals and contributed 32 assists in 198 games. There was a feeling that if the player could rid himself of fitness issues then a future England winger was on the horizon.
But his move to Anfield saw him immediately converted into Klopp's midfield and soon injuries would affect his progression.
Arsenal fans may reflect on the England midfielder's departure and deem it a good piece of business. But at the time many were dejected at the prospect of losing a real top emerging talent.
This was a former Southampton academy product who had rejected Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur for a move to the Emirates in 2011. Yet here he was joining yet another Premier League rival, leaving what was a difficult period for the Gunners in more need of repair.
