English Premier League club West Ham United FC is reportedly preparing a £15 million swoop for the services of Arsenal FC's young winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the summer even as the Englishman had not been in his top form at the Emirates Stadium this season.

West Ham head coach Slaven Bilić is said to be "keen for the club to swoop in for" the 22-year-old Oxlade-Chamberlain in "what would be a significant transfer coup" for the Irons, as reported by Metro.

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The England international is currently sidelined with a knee injury that he suffered during the Gunners' UEFA Champions League loss to La Liga giants FC Barcelona, 1-3, in the second leg of their round-of-16 series on March 16th at the Nou Camp in Barcelona. Arsenal eventually bowed out in the quarterfinals of the said continental club tournament as Barça won via a 5-1 aggregate win.

Gunners manager Arsene Wenger is now having problems with his front midfield because of the absence of Oxlade-Chamberlain as the Premier League is slowly winding down to a close.

Arsenal is currently at the third spot of the English top flight's league table, six points behind second-running Tottenham Hotspur and a huge 11 points adrift of current league leaders Leicester City with seven to eight matchdays left in the season.

Meanwhile, Caught Offside indicated that Bilić is keen on snagging Oxlade-Chamberlain from the Emirates Stadium to boost his side's Champions League bid next season.

West Ham is currently at the fifth spot in the overall standings, only a point behind fourth-placed Manchester City, who is occupying the final Champions League berth for 2016-2017.

With eight matchdays remaining in the Hammers' and City's season, Bilić and his men could still take over the spot from Manuel Pellegrini's struggling team as the Citizens have lost four of its last six outings in the domestic top flight and had been winless in five of their last six.

Tags Football Transfer Rumors, Football Transfer Rumors 2016, Arsenal FC, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, West Ham United FC, Premier League, Premier League 2015-2016