Free Agent Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Returns to Former Club Arsenal for Training While Waiting for a New Club

Free agent Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is currently training with Arsenal while planning his next transfer move. The star, who has previously played for Liverpool and Southampton, spent six years at Arsenal and became a free agent this summer after mutually terminating his contract with Besiktas.

The 32-year-old Chamberlain is considering a return to English football, which would also allow him to be closer to his fiancée. Arsenal appears to be assisting this former youth academy player by permitting him to maintain his fitness at the London Colney Training Ground.

The ex-England international, who earned 35 caps for his country between 2012 and 2019, will mainly train with the U21 squad while waiting for a new contract.

Chamberlain signed a three-year deal with Turkish Super Lig side Besiktas in 2023, but the two parties mutually agreed to terminate the contract this summer. During his spell there, he made 50 appearances, contributing 5 goals and 1 assist. Although he won the Turkish Cup in the 2023-24 season, persistent injury issues and losing his place in the team last season led to his departure. Besiktas paid him a severance fee of €1.75 million (approximately £1.58 million).

Reports in August suggested that Birmingham City were interested in signing him, with the club’s ambitious owner hoping to persuade him to join St Andrew’s Stadium. A return to England would see Chamberlain reunite with his fiancée and their son. In 2024, his fiancée Edwards revealed that the couple had been in a relationship for nine years but had never lived together: “It’s even harder to meet up since he played in Turkey, but I’m pursuing my own music career and also caring for our two-year-old child—though it’s tough, everything is worth it for the person I love.”