England manager Gareth Southgate reportedly  helped to convince former Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to choose Liverpool over Chelsea this summer.

After rejecting a £180,000 a week contract offer from the Gunners, it seemed to be guaranteed the 24-year-old would be sold off to the highest bidder. When that bidder turned out to be Chelsea, and Arsenal accepted the offer, it was then down to Oxlade-Chamberlain to agree personal terms.

However, the Metro report at this stage, the England international had a conversation with manager Gareth Southgate, who has told players in the past that failing to appear regularly at club level will hurt their chances of featuring for the Three Lions. Perhaps this had some influence in their reported conversation.

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte apparently told Oxlade-Chamberlain that he would be competing with Victor Moses for the right wing-back position, which would neither convince Ox that he had a guaranteed place, nor that he would get enough games in central areas as he’d hoped.

If Southgate again made the importance of game time clear when they discussed the move, it makes sense this would be in the back of the player’s mind in discussions with Conte and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. It may have helped to make the decision for him.