Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has faced familiar problem in Turkey after Liverpool exit

Liverpool has had a lot of players over the years where supporters wonder about what might have been. All clubs have them, of course, but it’s always disappointing when a signing doesn’t work out quite as well as hoped.

There can be many reasons for this. Maybe the player didn’t settle in a new country, or perhaps someone else in their position rose to prominence and superseded them.

Injuries are another cause, and it is this problem which blighted the Reds career of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He left Liverpool last summer after six seasons with the club, and now plays for Besiktas in Turkey. It has been a customary campaign of highs and lows for the 30-year-old.

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Oxlade-Chamberlain’s best season with the Reds was his first. He added a real drive to the Liverpool midfield, frequently combining well with Mohamed Salah, and he scored fantastic goals in two matches with Manchester City at Anfield. The former Arsenal man unleashed a rocket of a strike in the Champions League meeting, and it remains one of the Reds’ best goals in the competition under Jürgen Klopp.

‘The Ox’ suffered an injury in the semi-final against Roma that season, though, and effectively missed the entirety of 2018/19. However, he returned to make 43 appearances the following season, the most of his Liverpool career. With eight goals in all competitions, he was the Reds’ fourth top scorer behind the legendary front three of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané and Salah, in the campaign in which Liverpool won the league.

He missed 21 games in the following campaign and his reputation for being injury-prone stuck. Yet despite only making 42 appearances across his final two years with Liverpool, Oxlade-Chamberlain was unavailable for just 17 of the 115 matches across 2021/22 and last season. Klopp simply chose to use other midfielders more often.

Sadly for Oxlade-Chamberlain, the goal highs and injury lows have continued in his first season with Besiktas. He scored the winner in his second start in the Turkish Super League, then found the net in an away derby against Galatasaray. While he never scored against Everton, he memorably assisted Virgil van Dijk’s debut goal against the Blues.

In December, Oxlade-Chamberlain scored against Ankaragücü, carrying the ball from around the half way line and jinking through their defense on his way. He also found the net against league leaders Fenerbahce in the following game, but then suffered a torn thigh muscle in the next match.

The former England international missed 14 league games and three in the cup. He has since returned to action, making four substitute appearances but the season is almost at a close. Oxlade-Chamberlain moved to a new club, found form, then sustained a bad injury. The sequence is sadly all too familiar to Liverpool supporters.

Liverpool.com says: All fans of the Reds will wish Oxlade-Chamberlain well. He provided Kopites with several fantastic memories. Hopefully he can stay fit next season and contribute to another trophy winning campaign in Turkey but his injury issues have remained.