sport news Liverpool: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's last throw of the dice at Anfield

Some players go through their football careers with a heavy, heavy dose of bad luck and misfortune. It does not matter how talented they are of their potential threshold for turning into a world beater. The career of a footballer is often cruel.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is one of these such stars. The England international has been dealt the toughest of hands and had to walk the path less traveled. Now, however, he finds himself very much in the last chance saloon.

At a club like Liverpool - only this week celebrating a one year anniversary since they finally ended a 30-year wait to be crowned champions of England - things move fast. 

The Reds have burning ambitions to get back atop the pile once more, competing for domestic and European honours.  For this they need to have every single senior squad member firing on all cylinders, and those who cannot will be simply left behind.

Now, with his fitness back to optimum level once more, Oxlade-Chamberlain is bidding to make his final throw of the dice to convince boss Jurgen Klopp he can become an Anfield regular and play a starring role in helping his side recover from last year's torrid, injury-blighted campaign.  

Sportsmail takes a look at the tasks the 27-year-old faces, and how he can slot back into the red machine.

It's no secret that Liverpool have an opening in midfield this season.

The departure of Georginio Wijnaldum was seen as rather cold by many sections of the fanbase, after the Liverpool hierarchy opted against handing out a long-term deal to a player who was no longer in his twenties.

For the likes of Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Naby Keita, the exit of the Dutchman has provided a glimmer of hope - or at the very least a ticket into the last chance saloon.

Oxlade-Chamberlain made the decision in August 2017 to leave Arsenal for Liverpool in order to nail down his favoured position in the heart of midfield.

It's fair to say he came agonisingly close to doing so towards the end of his first campaign in red, and became a permanent fixture in Klopp's midfield three.

A brutal knee injury sustained against Roma in the semi-finals of the Champions League however put paid to this in the most cruel of fashions.

The Englishman would have likely been a nailed on starter in the European final which was to follow, yet instead he found himself hobbling around the Olympic stadium in Kiev on crunches.

Now, with a spot up for grabs in midfield, Oxlade-Chamberlain's mouth will be watering.

The dynamic star isn't one for happily sitting on the bench and collecting a sizeable pay packet each week. He wants to be involved come what may, and will have been saddened by how last season panned out.

Multiple niggling injuries continued to bite, and the option to build up a bit of momentum was simply never there.

As a result, Oxlade-Chamberlain watched on from the treatment room or the bench for the majority of the season, and missed out on a place in Gareth Southgate's England team for Euro 2020. 

It was a painful one to take. Now, though, the comeback could be on. Liverpool sources have made it clear that money will not be thrown about this summer, and that the squad will remain largely as it is.

The likes of Yves Bissouma and Florian Neuhaus have been linked, though concrete interest has not materialised. All the while, Klopp has been keeping a close eye on 'the Ox' in training.

After impressing with a brief cameo against Burnley at the end of last season, when he cut across the defence and fizzed a sublime finish into the bottom corner, Oxlade-Chamberlain reminded fans why he could be so important for Liverpool.

It therefore came as little surprise to see the player being tested in more advanced positions as Liverpool got their pre-season up and running in Austria this week.

The last campaign saw a

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