Mohamed Salah vs Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – A Statistical Comparison
Jurgen Klopp wants to be pro-active this summer and is looking to make some serious changes to his squad at Anfield to help them compete at the highest level next season. He has already added Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah to his squad this summer and is also looking for some more quality players to make sure that he is well equipped for the challenges next season.
One player constantly linked with a move to the club is Arsenal’s want-away Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. One of the most versatile midfielders up for the show in England, Chamberlain was one of the best players for the Gunners last season but a lack of first-team football has seen him stall on a new contract at the Emirates.
Liverpool are reportedly ready to make a £25m bid for his services, which might be enough to land him but how does the 23-year old compare to Liverpool’s brand new winger? Though they played in different leagues, here are some interesting comparisons between the two players.
With 15 goals, 11 assists, 60 key passes and 71 chances created, Salah was on fire in front of goal for the Serie A side and was one of the most productive players in the country last season. The Ox has just 2 goals and 7 assists to his name, having played close to 15 hours of football less than the Liverpool winger. He also created just 31 chances from 22 key passes all season.
With a pass completion of 83% compared to just the 80% from Salah, Chamberlain is, however, better in terms of numbers in most other situations. He has a successful take-on rate of 68.89% compared to just 54.55% for Salah. The Arsenal man also won 34.88% of his aerial duels and 50.40% of his total duels, which is also better than what Salah managed to register last season.
The former Roma man made 11 interceptions, with most of them coming in dangerous areas, while Chamberlain, who played as a wing-back as well, made just 10 interceptions all season.
To add to it, both players played in different systems in different countries and sparkled in their roles for their respective clubs. But Ox is not expected to be the first choice at Anfield even if he makes the move this summer while Mohamed Salah, who solves a more impending problem, could walk into the first team.
If Liverpool sign the ‘Ox’ as well, who do you think will be more effective next season?