Darren Bent seemed mystified by how Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had managed to look better than he did before his recent injury.
The Sky Sports pundit claimed that the Reds attacking midfielder seemed more powerful than before his 2017/18 injury and pointed out that he was playing really well currently.
Bent added that Jurgen Klopp must be thinking about how to fit Oxlade-Chamberlain into his team, before acknowledging there was space for him.
“He’s playing really well. Klopp must be thinking: ‘How am I going to get him in?’” Bent told Football Insider.
“It’s not even really that hard to get him in the team. I think Fabinho plays that holding role really well and I do think there’s two places up for grabs.
“With his performances at the minute, I think he’s fully deserved to be playing. For England right now, he’s got to be one of their main men in midfield. Somehow he looks better now and more powerful than before he got injured. He was playing really well and he’s come back and looks even better.”
OPINION
It is odd how Oxlade-Chamberlain does look better than before his injury, as you’d think he’d take time to get back to his best, let alone be able to hit a whole new height. The 26-year-old spent over 200 days stuck on the sidelines due to a knee injury, as per Transfermarkt, and normally when a player is out for that long, they need time to shake off the rust from not regularly playing football, but that hasn’t proven to be the case for Oxlade-Chamberlain. The England international has featured only eight times in the Premier League this season, with six of his appearances seeing him come off the bench to feature, but he has proven to be a lively presence by averaging an impressive 1.4 shots per game (Source: WhoScored). Also while Oxlade-Chamberlain’s minutes in the Premier League have been limited, he has wowed in the Champions League this season when given a chunk of minutes to impress. The midfielder has started both clashes with Genk, playing around 75 minutes in both matches, and made the most of his minutes by racking up three goals. So with that in mind, it won’t be a surprise to see Klopp start to utilise Oxlade-Chamberlain more shortly.
