Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could form a 'formidable' partnership with Philippe Coutinho at Aston Villa, Frank McAvennie has told Football Insider.

The lowdown

Transfer insider Dean Jones told GiveMeSport on Sunday that the 28-year-old is 'of interest' at Villa Park.

The £14.4m-rated midfielder is approaching the final year of his £120,000-per-week contract at Liverpool, while he watched virtually the Reds' entire run-in from the sidelines last season, with his most recent appearance coming in an FA Cup win over Nottingham Forest on 20 March.

Oxlade-Chamberlain's overall senior club career record stands at 373 appearances, 47 goals and 56 assists.

The latest

McAvennie thinks that a move to Villa will appeal to Oxlade-Chamberlain on the basis that Steven Gerrard should be able to hand him significantly greater game-time than Jurgen Klopp has done on Merseyside.

The former Villans striker told Football Insider: "I think that is a good bit of business.

"I like him as a player. You can tell he wants to get out and play, some players are happy to sit on the bench and not play. He would love to stay at Liverpool and he would love to be in the first team, but he's not.

"The reality is, he can go and play for Aston Villa every week. I can understand him wanting to go and play and he would be a really good signing for Villa."

McAvennie believes that, alongside a fellow goalscoring midfielder in Coutinho, with whom Oxlade-Chamberlain briefly played at Liverpool in 2017, the Englishman could electrify Villa Park.

The 62-year-old said: "Him and Coutinho, that's not bad, formidable. The two of them have goals in them. It would be great for the fans as well because those players play the game the way it should be played."

The verdict

Villa may be reliant on Liverpool's stance changing if they want to get this move done.

As it stands, the Reds do not intend to sign another midfield option this summer. As a consequence, it has been suggested that Jurgen Klopp could be eager to keep Oxlade-Chamberlain at Anfield to preserve the depth that the German currently has.

Another year of frustration may potentially be in store for the Englishman before the end of his contract on Merseyside.

Still, it's still very much early days in the market, and there's plenty of time for Liverpool to reassess their stance on the 28-year-old Villa target.

In other news, this superstar has a 'decent chance' of joining Villa