Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is certainly a high-profile addition for Celtic.
He may have been a free agent since leaving Besiktas in the summer, but in securing the Englishman’s signature, Martin O’Neill has added significant pedigree to his squad.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is no pensioner at 32, and had spent the last three months training with Premier League leaders Arsenal.
The midfielder was one of five winter additions for the Hoops, and the only one not to come in on loan, albeit he has signed a short-term contract.
Liam Scales has discussed his addition at Celtic, and revealed that he didn’t have to get his vocal cords ready for an initiation song…
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Liam Scales on Celtic’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
As a European champion with 35 caps for England, you might have imagined that Oxlade-Chamberlain has been getting special treatment…
But that’s not the case; Scales simply made the slightly sad revelation that initiation songs are no more.
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Speaking to the media about his new teammate, Scales said: “No, we don’t do the songs, but they have to run through a tunnel and everyone gets to slap them.
“You know, outside on the pitch, everyone gets in two lines. They have to run through the middle and you can just smack them on the back.
“I think people pulled a few punches on Alex yesterday!
“A bit easier than the younger lads. That’s how it tends to go. I think if you’re a younger lad, you might get it worse, but that’s been brought in with Martin and Shaun. It’s good.”
“He’s kind of slotted in really well and then to see him on the pitch there, he’s got incredible technical ability and you can see why he’s played at the level he’s played.
“He’s kind of slotted in really well and then to see him on the pitch there, he’s got incredible technical ability and you can see why he’s played at the level he’s played.
“He’s a really, really good player and a really intelligent player. You can tell just even from today. I’m looking forward to seeing him play as well. He looks really, really sharp.
“When you see someone come in who’s played at a really high level for years, you can tell the little differences. They have that elite level and I feel like he has that.”
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The career of Celtic’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
After emerging as a 16-year-old wonderkid at Southampton, Oxlade-Chamberlain earned a £15 million move to Arsenal in 2011, becoming the youngest ever English goalscorer in the Champions League (a record which was later broken by Jude Bellingham).
At age 18, Oxlade-Chamberlain was named in the 23-man England squad at EURO 2012, alongside future Hoops hero Hart. He appeared in their opening match against France.
He went on to make 198 appearances for Arsenal before joining Liverpool for £35 million in 2018. He played a crucial role in their title-winning Premier League season in 2019-20.
Beset by multiple major injuries, he faded into a background role in Jurgen Klopp’s squad before moving to Besiktas on a free transfer. Across two years in Turkey, he played under eight managers.
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