Liverpool agree £40m fee with Arsenal for midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

The Gunners had agreed a fee with Chelsea on Monday only for the player to push for a move to Anfield instead

Liverpool have agreed a deal to sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from Arsenal after the player turned down a move to Chelsea this week in favour of joining Jurgen Klopp’s side.

The fee is understood to be £40m and Oxlade-Chamberlain will undergo a medical at St Georges’ Park where he is currently on international duty with England.

The Reds have had a long-term interest in the Englishman and made tentative enquiries last summer but nothing came of them as Arsenal sought to tie the player down to another contract under the premise of more first-team football.

However, the promise failed to materialise and Oxlade-Chamberlain, who this summer entered the final 12 months of his contract at the Emirates, is keen to move on to a new challenge.

He is also desperate to secure playing time in central midfield, which he sees as his best position, despite playing on the wing for Arsenal and, most recently, wing-back.

The Gunners had agreed a deal with London rivals Chelsea on Monday but Oxlade-Chamberlain turned the champions down in favour of a move to Anfield.

It was the talks with Chelsea which shook Liverpool into action, with the player more willing to stay at Arsenal for another year and leave on a free to join the Reds rather than head to Stamford Bridge.

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s management company, Colossal Sports Management, tweeted that they had a “deal agreed” for one of their clients to join Liverpool, although he is not mentioned by name.

The 24-year-old joins Kieran Gibbs in leaving Arsenal this week, with more departures still possible as Manchester City hope to make a late move for Alexis Sanchez, while Inter Milan remain interested in Shkodran Mustafi.