Jurgen Klopp Defender Midfielder's Absence in Weekend Draw Against Manchester United

Jurgen Klopp believes Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain still 'needs time to adapt' before he can make his debut as Reds player.

The German manager justified his decision to rule him out of the starting XI for the club's showdown against Manchester United on Saturday afternoon in an interview with Sky Sports (via Goal). He claimed: "He (Oxlade-Chamberlain) was always interrupted by two-week international breaks; always when he starts taking the next step then international break."

The 24-year-old ex-Arsenal was thought to be featured among the starting XI at the Anfield game, however, Klopp chose to keep him on the bench in favour of Emre Can.

He commented: "These boys are used to each other and they know about [each other’s] ways, so I think it makes sense against United that we do not make a lot of experiments because they are quite cool in their approach.

“They are convinced about what they are doing; sometimes a little bit deeper, sometimes a little bit higher. They don’t need 80 percent of the ball to feel dominant in the game, so you need a formation in which everybody knows what the other player is doing in each situation.”

The England midfielder joined Liverpool from Arsenal over the summer on a £35m deal but has since failed to claim a stable role in the first team. 

During Saturday's 0-0 draw between Manchester United and Liverpool, Oxlade-Chamberlain only came on as a substitute for Mohamed Salah in the final 15 minutes. 

Coming up next for Liverpool are an away Champions League match with Maribor and a clash against Tottenham, when the England midfielder could finally play from the start.