Why Leeds United move for £35m ex-Liverpool and Arsenal star is unlikely as Daniel Farke stance clear

Leeds United have been surprisingly linked with interest in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain but a move for the attacking midfielder this month doesn’t look likely.

The Sun claim Oxlade-Chamberlain is keen on a return to England before Monday’s deadline, having struggled to enjoy regular football with current club Besiktas. The 31-year-old has made six league appearances all season, totalling just 173 minutes and one goal.

Premier League pair Leicester City and Wolves are said to be ‘monitoring’ Oxlade-Chamberlain’s availability in the final days of the January window, but the report also claims Leeds are ‘believed to be keen’. Elland Road chiefs are said to see the former Liverpool and Arsenal man as a level of quality that could take them back to the top-flight.

Farke’s January transfer needs

While Leeds have long maintained they expect a quiet window - and that much has been true with barely a concrete link all month - Daniel Farke has regularly insisted the club will ‘stay awake’ in case an opportunity too good to turn down becomes available. Such options will need to tick multiple boxes, however.

"One of the secrets why we are the team who has won more points in the festive period, we’ve found solutions, in my experience is also the spirit within the group, the togetherness and unity, is more important than the quality when it comes to the crunch time,” Farke told the YEP earlier this month. “To overdo things makes no sense.

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“If right now in January there is a player who makes us better in a special position I would never say no. In January the experience is if a player is available there's a special situation. Either overpriced - we want to work sustainable - or coming from a long-term injury."

Any new signings will first need to significantly improve the current group, while also possessing a strong character so as to not disrupt the current harmony. They must also be affordable for a club without infinite funds. And while Oxlade-Chamberlain’s quality is in little doubt, it is highly unlikely he will be fit enough to drop straight into the rigours of a Championship promotion push.

Oxlade-Chamberlain move unlikely

As already mentioned, the 35-cap England international has just 173 minutes of league football to his name, which is equivalent to less than two full games. Prior to a rare start on Sunday, the former Liverpool man had only managed a full half of football on one occasion.

Leeds have shown a flexibility with regards to minutes this season, signing free agent Josuha Guilavogui in October despite the 34-year-old not playing a full 90-minute match since March. But they were unprecedented circumstances, with Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev both out with long-term injuries, and even then the midfielder is yet to play more than 16 minutes in a single Championship game.

There is nowhere near the level of desperation to reinforce this month, with both Leeds and Farke calm about the quality already on hand. Continued interest in Emi Buendia suggested a No.10 was still on the radar in LS11 but his imminent move to Bayer Leverkusen has ended those links. And it is unlikely the focus will now turn to Oxlade-Chamberlain.