Birmingham City should try to sign ex-Arsenal player on a free transfer - he can make a difference | OneFootball

Birmingham City should try to bring in former England international Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on a free transfer.

Birmingham City are heading into the rest of this season - now that the summer transfer window has shut - as one of the promotion favourites in the Championship, but there is still a signing that Blues can make to send out another statement to the league.

Chris Davies’ Blues side amassed 111 points last season as they won the League One title with the all-time EFL points tally, and big-spending Blues have continued to be ambitious in the market this summer, too, as they target back-to-back promotions and a return to the top-flight for the first time in over a decade and a half.

Birmingham, both on and off the pitch, have big goals and ambitions, and they have started this season well with a couple of victories, a draw against Ipswich Town in which they were the better side but conceded a late controversial penalty, and a defeat on the road at the King Power Stadium against Leicester City.

City will be expected to challenge for at the very least the top six this season, but there is a chance they could even kick on and push for the top two and the automatic spots.

One player available outside of the transfer window that could transform them from a top six challenger to a title contender is former England international Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Birmingham should move for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after his Besiktas exit

Late on in the transfer window, reports suggested that Birmingham were interested in a move for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, with the former Arsenal man now a free agent, following his departure from Besiktas in Turkey.

A deal is yet to come to fruition, but Oxlade-Chamberlain’s free agency means that the 32-year-old Portsmouth-born midfielder could yet move, and he would be an excellent signing for Birmingham, and a real statement of intent to the rest of the Championship.

The pedigree that Oxlade-Chamberlain offers is way above Championship level, even with Birmingham able to make several statements, most recently the addition of Patrick Roberts on deadline day, joining on loan from Sunderland.

At one stage, under the management of Jurgen Klopp, Oxlade-Chamberlain was an essential part of the Liverpool midfield that eventually reached the 2018 UEFA Champions League final, and was on course to be a crucial player for an England side that reached the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-finals.

Injuries have hampered him and he will have to fall into the category of ‘what if’ or ‘what could have been’, but that doesn’t prevent him from potentially being a dominant midfielder for second-tier level in England.

With 35 caps for England, Birmingham would be bringing in a player that, if they can get to reach close to full fitness, would simply be a cut above the division, and could also help diversify and transform their tactical blueprint.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would aid Birmingham City’s tactical plan

Chris Davies is a coach that has already gained a reputation for being able to implement a style of football that is so dominant and controlling, it can be suffocating for the opposition.

The dominance that Birmingham have in possession then means a lack of efficiency in either box can often be immensely frustrating and, particularly at the start of last season, there were occasions where that became an irritation.

However, as the fluency grew and the gulf in quality showed, Birmingham eventually became record breakers; but that is unlikely going to be able to be replicated in the Championship.

When teams do sit deep, the extra levels of fitness and intelligence are going to cause Birmingham even bigger issues when it comes to speeding the game up to shift teams around and break them down.

Oxlade-Chamberlain, at his best, would provide a dynamism and aggression to the middle of the park that the deliberate, and excellent, technical midfielders that Blues currently have do not possess.

The ability to transition with speed is going to be crucial for Birmingham at a higher level, with the likelihood of having less of the ball than last year, and he could provide that variety to their play.

It would undoubtedly be a bit of a risk given his injury record and general career decline, but at his best, and still only 32, Oxlade-Chamberlain would be a statement signing for Birmingham, and he could propel them into the Premier League once again.