Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is back training at Arsenal as he plots his next transfer move.
The former Liverpool and Southampton star, who spent six years at the Emirates under Arsene Wenger, is a free agent after agreeing to a mutual termination of his Besiktas contract this summer.
It is believed that the 32-year-old is now eyeing a return to English football, which would also allow him to be close to his fiancee Perrie Edwards.
Arsenal appear to be assisting their former youngster, allowing him to maintain his fitness by training at their facility in London Colney.
The former England international, who was capped 35 times from 2012 to 2019, will predominantly work with the Under-21 squad as he awaits his next move.
Tim Sherwood hailed it as ‘incredible’ for the Arsenal youth players as he tipped Oxlade-Chamberlain for an unlikely reunion with Jack Wilshere.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is training with Arsenal again after leaving Besiktas this summer
He had his contract mutually terminated by the Turkish side after being frozen out of the squad
Oxlade-Chamberlain has been tipped for a reunion with his former teammate Jack Wilshere
‘I think it’s a great move for Oxlade to get himself fit and also for them academy boys who are coming through in their numbers at Arsenal,’ he said on Sky Sports News.
When asked where the 32-year-old should move next, Sherwood added: ‘It depends what level he wants to play at.
‘But if I’m Jack Wilshere, and I know it’s League One, I am absolutely ringing his phone off the hook to get him to come and play for his old mate and help out that group at Luton.
‘But he might have his sights a lot higher, and he probably has.’
Oxlade-Chamberlain is a free agent following the mutual termination of his contract by the Turkish Süper Lig side, who he signed a three-year deal with in 2023.
The midfielder made 50 appearances for Besiktas, scoring five goals and providing one assist. He won the Turkish Cup in the 2023-24 campaign but struggled with injuries and found himself frozen out of squads last season.
Besiktas paid the Englishman a severance fee of €1.75 million (£1.58million) an speculation has since been rife surrounding his next move.
In August it was reported that Birmingham City had set their sights on a move for him, with their ambitious owners said to be hopeful of tempting him to St Andrew’s.
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Oxlade-Chamberlain was capped for the Three Lions 35 times from 2012 to 2019
It was said that the club were looking to point to their growing pulling power under chairman Tom Wagner and the involvement of NFL legend Tom Brady, who is a minority owner.
A move back to England would allow Oxlade-Chamberlain to reunite with fiancée Perrie Edwards, the former Little Mix star, and their son.
In 2024, Edwards revealed that the couple had not lived together at any point during their nine-year relationship.
She told ITV: ‘I can’t lie, it is hard. When he was playing for Liverpool and based in Manchester, it was so easy to do the back and forth but Turkey is a little bit further and he doesn’t get a lot of time off.
‘I’m trying to launch a solo career whilst having a two year old so it is a lot to juggle but we make it work for the ones we love don’t we?
‘We’ve never lived together anyway – the whole eight years we’ve been in a relationship, we’ve never actually lived together.’
Oxlade-Chamberlain won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2019 under Jurgen Klopp
Between 2012 and 2019 Oxlade-Chamberlain was capped by England on 35 occasions and scored seven goals.
After starting out at Southampton, he signed for Arsenal in 2011 and played 198 times for the Gunners, scoring 20 goals and winning three FA Cups.
A move to Liverpool followed in 2017, with Oxlade-Chamberlain winning an array of trophies during his time with the Reds.
He won the Champions League, the Premier League, the League Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
In total Oxlade-Chamberlain scored 18 goals in 146 appearances for Liverpool.
