Rio Ferdinand hugely impressed by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Rio Ferdinand sang Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s praises while he was on punditry duty for BT Sport on Wednesday evening.

“You get the feeling his teammates love him,” he told BT Sport.  “You can tell Klopp loves him and he’s desperate to get him in the team somehow.

“He offers something totally different to the likes of Milner, Wijnaldum, Fabinho and Henderson. ‘He can dribble past people which is hard for a midfielder. ‘It’s great to see him get back in. I like the way that he gets into those positions.

“Once he gets into those pockets in behind the opposition’s midfield he can dribble and shoot. He’s a fantastic footballer and it’s all about decision making there. He offers something totally different in the midfield for Liverpool.”

Van Persie added: “Most players don’t think about it. He does it so silkily. The goal from Alex there is one you will score once in your life.

“I used to play with him at Arsenal. I saw that in him. He was one of those who had the potential to be a top player. If he can keep doing that, he can still be a top player.”

For Liverpool fans, this has been a long time coming after he missed 39 games across a 293-day spell following the two surgeries he had on his knee to fix the damage caused by an anterior cruciate ligament rupture.

After his two-goal display in Belgium, Chamberlain will pose a selection headache to Jurgen Klopp given the recent poor form of captain Jordan Henderson.

Based on recent form and fitness, the former Gunner deserves to start against Tottenham as part of a three with Fabinho and Georginio Wijnaldum ahead of Hendo.

The only reason Naby Keita should miss out is that he played the full 90 minutes and hasn’t been in training for much more than two and a half weeks.

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Source: anfieldhq.com