How likely Southampton FC are of re-signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | OneFootball

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain looks set to return to England, but potentially not with his former club

Southampton's current chances of striking a reunion deal with former England international, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have been revealed, with the 31-year-old looking to return to his home country after departing Turkish Süper Lig giants, Besiktas.

Alex Crook of talkSPORT has stated that plenty of English clubs are interested in acquiring Oxlade-Chamberlain's services on a free transfer after his contract with the Istanbul-based side was terminated via mutual consent. However, the chances of him returning to St Mary's - 14 years after moving to Arsenal - are looking extremely slim at this stage.

The Saints are undergoing yet another rebuilding job after a solitary season of Premier League football, finding themselves back in the Championship just 14 months after earning promotion via the play-offs against Leeds United at Wembley.

After a campaign which saw the South Coast side accumulate the second-worst points total in top-flight history (12), Will Still is now at the helm, and the highly-rated head coach has already made two new additions in the form of Joshua Quarshie and Damion Downs from TSG Hoffenheim and FC Koln, respectively.

Whilst plenty more player turnover is expected to occur in this part of Hampshire between now and Deadline Day on September 1st, a potential transfer which would add vast amounts of quality and experience for a previous academy graduate seems to be a non-starter at present.

Chances of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Southampton FC reunion revealed as Besiktas departure confirmed

Oxlade-Chamberlain first broke onto the scene at St Mary's as a 16-year-old during the club's League One days, with his breakthrough campaign being the 2010/11 promotion-winning season under Nigel Adkins, in which he registered nine goals and as many assists in 34 league appearances, subsuquently joining Arsenal for a deal worth £15m.

He went on to make 198 appearances at the Emirates Stadium during a six-year period, winning the FA Cup three times before significantly bolstering his trophy collection at Liverpool following a £35m switch in August 2017.

The versatile figure went on to win the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, EFL Cup and Club World Cup under Jürgen Klopp, although the latter stages of his spell at Anfield were extremely injury-hit, before his departure was announced in May 2023.

The past two seasons have seen the 35-cap England international feature 50 times and score five times for the 'Black Eagles', who are now managed by Ole Gunnar Solskjær. However, he only made 18 league appearances last season, missing the final three encounters with an injury.

It was reported earlier in the transfer window that fellow Championship newcomers, Leicester City, had lodged an approach to Besiktas for his services, before the club paid a reported £1.2m to terminate his three-year contract a year ahead of expiration.

Crook's aforementioned update claims that Solskjaer wanted to retain his services at the Tüpraş Stadyumu, and that it is unlikely, at present, that Oxlade-Chamberlain will return to his old club this summer.

Whilst transfer speculation - especially when it comes to clubs re-signing former fan favourites - generates plenty of hype, Saints fans shouldn't be overly disheartened by the news.

That is because, according to Capology - a site which ESTIMATES the wages of players - Oxlade-Chamberlain was earning €80,192 (£69,410) per week in Türkiye. Whilst the likelihood is, for him to return to the Solent club, a pay-cut would have been needed, if he wasn't to feature prominently - which could have been a strong possibility due to Southampton's current options in the centre of the park - it is hard to justify such high figures.

Therefore, even if Still is to lose the services of key players such as Shea Charles - who has recently been linked with Leeds United - and/or Mateus Fernandes, the 32-year-old should look to bring in players on deals which make much greater financial sense, as well as boosting the quality already among the ranks.