Leeds United’s summer transfer window has so far been a very positive one, but Daniel Farke’s side could be about to strike a deal that many would find uninspiring.
Leeds United have stocked up well so far ahead of their return to the Premier League this summer. Already, the 49ers and Daniel Farke have welcomed seven new players to Elland Road, with the last being goalkeeper Lucas Perri who arrived from Lyon.
The calibre of players arriving in West Yorkshire has been impressive, as too has the spending from Farke. It’s been managed spending, but it’s also clear that the club aren’t afraid to throw around money, with £10million going on the likes of Gabriel Gudmundsson and then Leeds United spending £20million on Anton Stach from Hoffenheim.
Now, it looks like Leeds United will focus on attacking signings. It’s understood that Farke wants to sign three more attacking players before the end of the summer transfer window, with a new number 10, a new winger, and a new striker all on his radar.
One player who could fill at least two of those roles is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
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What’s being said about Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Leeds United
The former Arsenal and Liverpool man has been a transfer target for Leeds United throughout the summer. Last month it was reported that Oxlade-Chamberlain was set to have his contract terminated at Besiktas, although news on the matter went quiet for a couple of weeks.
Then this week reports in the national media revealed that Besiktas were indeed set to terminate Oxlade-Chamberlain’s contract and that Leeds was one possible destination for the 31-year-old.
No other clubs were mentioned, although it’s understood that Oxlade-Chamberlain is determined to seal a move back to England this summer and it’s looking as though Leeds might well be the front-runner for the former England man’s signature right now.
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Three obvious reasons why Leeds United must avoid Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain deal
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would cost a lot in wages
Leeds United had the biggest wage bill in the Championship last season, costing just over £3million every year. Since promotion from the Championship, the Leeds United players have received pay rises and some are understood to be earning around the £70,000-a-week mark, including the likes of Patrick Bamford.
Expect Farke to be keen on clearing the wage bill in what’s left of the summer transfer window. With that in mind, it looks unlikely that Leeds would then pay up much for an Oxlade-Chamberlain who would surely arrive as a bit of a back-up player.
Per Salary Sport, Oxlade-Chamberlain is Besiktas’ current highest paid player, earning £65,000-a-week or £3.38million every year.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is injury prone
The other obvious caveat with a move for Oxlade-Chamberlain is his patchy injury record. Throughout his career he’s been ravaged with numerous injuries and that has led into his time in Turkey with Besiktas. In the 2024/25 season he missed 28 days through injury as well as missing five games.
In the season before he missed 104 days and 19 games. In fact, Oxlade-Chamberlain has gone seasons where he’s missed pretty much the entire campaign like the 2017/18 season where he missed a staggering 58 games. And there’s nothing to suggest that Oxlade-Chamberlain has put the worst of his injuries behind him.
| Season | Days | Games missed |
|---|---|---|
| 24/25 | 28 days | 5 |
| 23/24 | 104 days | 19 |
| 22/23 | 94 days | 14 |
| 20/21 | 114 days | 20 |
| 19/20 | 28 days | 4 |
| 18/19 | 41 days | 9 |
| 17/18 | 317 days | 58 |
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain may be past his best
There’s no doubting that a prime Oxlade-Chamberlain would walk into most Premier League teams 11. But the days of him impressing for the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and even England on the international stage seem long gone.
He’s fallen out of favour at Besiktas with manager Oli Gunnar Solskjaer willing to let him leave for nothing despite having another year on his contract. It comes after a rather miserable season for the versatile attacker who featured 18 times in the Super Lig, starting 14 of those but scoring only once and failing to claim any assists at all.
It seems like Oxlade-Chamberlain has certainly passed his best and if Leeds are looking to be ambitious and to beat the Premier League drop next season they certainly need to be aiming a bit higher.
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