Journalist Dean Jones has backed up rumours linking Aston Villa with a move for Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, as per GiveMeSport.

The Lowdown: Villa linked with Oxlade-Chamberlain

NSWE have wasted no time in backing Steven Gerrard ahead of his first full season in charge at Villa Park, with four permanent additions so far.

Oxlade-Chamberlain could well be the next first-team arrival in the Midlands, with the Villa manager reportedly making him a priority target. The 28-year-old is entering the final year of his Liverpool contract and could be allowed to leave Anfield over the coming months.

The Latest: Jones’ comments

Jones iterated that Oxlade-Chamberlain is a target for Villa and labelled the midfielder a ‘really interesting’ player due to his versatility.

The journalist also claimed that the Liverpool ace ‘would really help Gerrard’ following his five-year stint at Anfield under Jurgen Klopp.

Jones told GiveMeSport:

“He is a player of interest, but there are others they want to look at too in that situation. I think the really interesting thing about Oxlade-Chamberlain is he’s so adaptable in terms of where they could play him.

“Largely, you’d probably consider him a central midfielder at this point, but if you have any other issues in your midfield or in your team, he could go and do a job for you on the left or on the right, and he could do that job very well.

“The amount he would have learned technically at Liverpool would really help Gerrard, and he’ll have good reports on him too.”

The Verdict: £11m move on the cards?

Reports have hinted that Oxlade-Chamberlain could now be available for half of the £22m fee that Liverpool were seeking last summer. If that is the case, an £11m move to the Midlands could be of interest to Villa chiefs.

He would provide Gerrard with a hugely versatile midfield option who could also line out on the wing and has Champions League experience – a competition for which Villa eventually want to be challenging for qualification.

There are cons to this porposed move, though, with Oxlade-Chamberlain playing just over 1,000 minutes of Premier League action in the past two seasons and having missed 74 games for Liverpool through injury.

In other news: Villa and Gerrard now want 'unbelievable' ace on free transfer alongside Suarez