Armstrong Oko-flex "blown away" since signing for Celtic

By David Walton

February 21, 2019

Armstrong Oko-flex has opened up on his time at Celtic so far and stated he’s been blown away at the club.

The former Arsenal youngster joined the Hoops last summer, and has since been strutting his stuff for the reserves. Recently, fans were given a glimpse of his incredible talent in the 4-1 reserve win against Falkirk. You can watch highlights of that match here, where Oko-flex netted a wonder goal.

He’s been so impressive that Brendan Rodgers decided to give him a place on the bench for Sunday’s 1-0 win at Kilmarnock. The youngster didn’t come on, but the experience would’ve been invaluable for him.

Amrstrong Oko-flex (second from right) was part of the squad on Sunday (Vagelis Georgariou/Action Plus via Getty Images)

And speaking to the Celtic View (Wednesday February 20th, pages 30-31), the youngster spoke of his enjoyment since moving up north.

“I’m so glad I made the move. I’m working on areas of my game that I wouldn’t have been able to work on at other clubs.

“Here, it doesn’t matter who you play for. Other clubs are going to get stuck in. It’s more physical here compared to England, and I don’t get much time on the ball here.

“The first time I trained with the first-team I was blown away by the intensity. I’ve trained more with them though, and I’ve upped my own level of intensity to where I can cope better.”

Oko-flex the first of many to get a first-team shot?

Oko-flex has been one of the standout names from the reserve squad. He’s been flying under Damien Duff and Tommy McIntyre recently, and seems to be making quick strides at Celtic.

Rodgers also revealed in the Celtic View (Wednesday 20th February, page 6), that he was ready to give other youth players the same chance (you can read our story on that here).

Damien Duff’s arrival is massive for the youth players (Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Karamoko Dembele will be eligible to make his senior squad debut on Sunday. The youngster turns 16 tomorrow (Friday), and only recently signed his first professional contract at Parkhead.

It’s suddenly an exciting time to be a youngster at the Celtic academy. The recent arrivals of Duff and Stephen McManus have helped throw some real experience to the development of the youngsters.

It’s no surprise that Oko-flex has since been spurred on even more by the duo’s arrival. Here’s hoping we hear a lot more from him and other academy hopefuls in the near future.