Southampton kid Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain favours move to champions Chelsea

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlainclearly isn't asuperstar yet. There may bemany distractions on aSaturday night, but heprefers to be tucked up athome watching himself onThe Football LeagueShow. But by the end of the month,he could be tuning in earlier tocheck out Match of the Day. Flying: Chamberlain celebrates scoring against OldhamLiverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal,Manchester City and ManchesterUnited are among a host ofclubs pondering a January movefor Southampton's latestacademy prospect. Sportsmail understands amove to Stamford Bridge theclub he supported as a boy isChamberlain's preference. And the £10million-rated17-year-old will plead withofficials at St Mary's not tostand in his way if the chance tojoin a top-flight club becomes areality this month. If Chamberlain is not a householdname yet, that looksdestined to change. When hemade his debut last season,aged 16 years and 199 days, hebecame the second-youngestfirst-team player for Southampton,behind only Theo Walcott. Father figure: Mark Chamberlain (left) during his England daysHe has played 28 times andscored seven goals this seasonin Southampton's drive forpromotion back to the Championship. His latest strike was theopener in their 6-0 win atOldham on Tuesday, where hewas watched by ManchesterUnited boss Sir Alex Fergusonand Liverpool's director of footballstrategy Damien Comolli. Having made his debut forEngland Under 18s againstPoland in November, FAdirector of football developmentTrevor Brooking has alreadyidentified him as aninternational star of the future. The midfielder takes his namefrom former England and Stokewinger Mark Chamberlain, andmother Wendie Oxlade. His dadhas no fears for the new-foundfame. 'You see some of theseyoung boys nowadays who areon big contracts, earning 'X'amount of pounds, acting likethey have made it,' he said.'I wouldn't like it if Alex was togo down that route, I wouldn'tbe too pleased at all. He's fineat the moment but we will keepan eye on that. 'He likes to read about himselfin the papers, and likeswatching himself on theFootball League Show. 'But he is a level-headed boy.After games he doesn't like thefuss, he just wants to leave theground and meet his mates.' Glenhurst School playingfields, in Havant, was whereChamberlain showed fledglingsigns of the talent that has seenthe Premier Leagues elite reachfor their chequebooks. He was still in junior schoolwhen he joined Southamptonas an eight-year old, but it wasin his early teens that Alexstarted showing professionalpromise. Comparisons with fellowSaints academy graduateWalcott are unavoidable. Hiselectric pace has already leftmany a full back on theirbacksides. But where Walcottoften fails to deliver, is there anend produce with Chamberlain? Likeness: Oxlade-Chamberlain has been compared to Theo Walcott'It's nice being pretty on theball, but if you don't have theend product then it's a waste oftime,' said Chamberlain Snr,who has coached his son andWalcott during his stint as ayouth coach at Southampton. 'His ability to cross the ball isgood and he already has sevengoals this season. He needs towork on getting more assists. 'I said at the start of theseason that I rate him morehighly than Walcott andeveryone looked at me funny. Give us a wave: Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti could be saying hello to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain'But I've worked with both,they have their assets andattributes. But as an all-roundtechnical player Alex has moreto offer.' For the cynics who suspect atouch of bias in the assessment,Saints team-mate DannyButterfield has another take. 'He's got very quick feet and isexplosive off the mark, hedelivers a good final ball and hes cor e s goals, ' said theexperienced defender. 'From where he is now to whatI'd imagine Theo Walcott waslike at 17, I'd say Alex is far moreadvanced.' Chelsea favourites to land Saints' £10m-rated starlet Oxlade-ChamberlainLiverpool to battle Man United for £10m-rated starlet Oxlade-ChamberlainStoke join queue for Southampton whizkid Oxlade-Chamberlain Explore more:People: Theo Walcott Places: United Kingdom

Source: Daily_Mail