Jurgen Klopp has told Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain not to expect to play in his preferred central midfield role for Liverpool any time soon.

Oxlade-Chamberlain swapped Arsenal for Anfield in a £35million move this summer with his desire to play centrally a notable motivating factor.

Klopp has tended to field the 24-year-old out wide in his limited appearances for his new club so far – and the German says that is a trend that is unlikely to change in the immediate future.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is facing more time out wide rather than centrally with Liverpool

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says Oxlade-Chamberlain is not ready for a central role

Liverpool play Maribor in the Champions League on Tuesday night before a Premier League trip to Tottenham on Sunday with Oxlade-Chamberlain expected to feature – but not in the middle.

'Without training and playing in the middle of the park it doesn't make sense,' Klopp said.

'At this moment he is training only on the wing so it is clear, when he does start [playing in the middle, it] can never be without training as a No 8 first.

'It is not good for him, and it is not good for us, and at the moment when he is training he trains on the wing.

'At the moment it is clear but I know once again it is a long-term thing, it is not fixed for the next five years.'

Oxlade-Chamberlain was a 78th-minute substitute in Saturday's stalemate against Manchester United but managed to light up an otherwise drab draw in his brief cameo.

The former Arsenal midfielder slides in for a tackle in Saturday's draw with Manchester United

After his initial struggles that followed his big-money move, Klopp was delighted to see the steady improvement of his summer signing.

'I cannot say how happy I was to see Chambo playing like this,' Klopp added.

'I said he needed a little bit of time and my most positive thing was that finally he has arrived, but it always takes time.

'I really loved the performance when he came on.'