Sheffield United's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain transfer stance amid link with ex-Liverpool Champions League winner

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Sheffield United’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain transfer chances after links with Champions League-winning England man

Multiple reports in Turkey have linked Sheffield United with an eye-catching move for former Liverpool Champions League winner and England international Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain this summer. The 30-year-old, a former £35m player when he moved to Liverpool from Arsenal, is currently plying his trade with Beşiktaş but could move on this summer, a year after moving to Istanbul.

The forward played 28 times for Beşiktaş last season, scoring four times, and was linked with the Blades earlier this month for the first time. Since then a number of outlets in Turkey have picked up the story, with many Unitedites getting their hopes up at the prospect of seeing a player with proven Premier League and international pedigree in a Blades shirt.

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But insiders at Bramall Lane have poured scorn on the prospect of a move for Oxlade-Chamberlain, as things stand. One of the big stumbling blocks is his salary, with the 35-cap England man earning a base salary of €2.5m - around £2.2m per season - plus a bonus of up to €10,000 (£8,600) per match depending on his involvement. That would work out at roughly £50,000 a week at the top end.

United are not currently in the market for players of Oxlade-Chamberlain’s calibre and would likely need a big injection of funds via the ongoing takeover to even stand a chance of competing for his signature. With United still under the governance of Saudi businessman Prince Abdullah, who is negotiating with an American consortium over a potential sale of the Blades, funds are once again tight despite United spending three of the last five seasons in the top flight.

Chris Wilder, the United boss, has already admitted he is working with loans, frees and “small fees” in this summer window and will be as aware as anyone of the need to hit the ground running in the transfer market, rather than wait for a potential takeover development and risk being left behind in a summer he has already described as the most important in the last decade for United.

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United have also been linked with Peterborough man Harrison Burrows, who is out of contract next summer but helped Posh to the EFL Trophy in 2023/24 and was named League One player of the season. Social media speculation suggested today that Burrows’ signing was imminent but The Star understands that is not the case, with Posh expected to drive a hard bargain in terms of the transfer fee for their prized asset despite the prospect of losing him for nothing next summer.

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