Celtic have decided to make the call of bringing back Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Martin O’Neill was key in Oxlade-Chamberlain joining Celtic in January, and you would assume he has played just as important a role in the midfielder signing a new one-year contract with the Glasgow giants.
But Oxlade-Chamberlain’s return to Celtic caused quite the debate on Open Goal, with Si Ferry stating that it’s ‘baffling’, while Ross McCormack was ‘torn’ in his views.
However, it was Andy Halliday and Ian McCall who were involved in the most interesting debate around the midfielder.
Halliday questioned why Celtic have re-signed Oxlade-Chamberlain, especially given that he will be on ‘at least £18k-a-week’, but McCall disagreed and stated he wouldn’t even be on ‘half of that.’
📝 The Ox extends!
Have Celtic made the right call?
Open Goal panel split on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s return to Celtic
Andy Halliday: “I am actually surprised they are taking Oxlade-Chamberlain back for another year.”
Si Ferry: “That’s baffling. Absolutely baffling to me.”
Halliday: “I may be wrong here. He definitely didn’t start any of the five post-split games I am talking about, the five biggest games of the season. He definitely didn’t start any of them. I think he only came on during one of the five.”
Ian McCall: “Unless the wages he is getting is reflective of how his career. He has made all his money.”
Halliday: “Can I say quickly, it won’t be. He will be getting fortunes.”
McCall: “I don’t agree with that.”
Halliday: “By fortunes, I mean he is going to be on, at least, £18k-a-week. At least.”
McCall: “I don’t think so. I don’t agree with that at all. I think he will not be even half of that.”
Halliday: “No chance. Anthony Ralston is on more than that, so how would Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain? There is no way he is on £9k-a-week. No chance.”
McCall: “I think it’s the only reason they have signed him.”
Ferry: “Do you think it’s a good decision to keep Oxlade-Chamberlain?”
Ross McCormack: “I am a wee bit torn with it in the sense that, for how good a player he has been, part of me tells me it’s worth a chance, if he can stay fit and have a full pre-season. Then you have a hell of a player on your hands.
“But history suggests that he might not be able to.”
Why Celtic fans should be concerned with Oxlade-Chamberlain
If the former Liverpool and Arsenal player is one of the top earners at the club, then it’s nowhere near worth re-signing him.
There is a reason why Oxlade-Chamberlain had his contract mutually ripped up by Besiktas last summer, and then spent half the season without a club and just building his fitness with Arsenal.
Yes, the 32-year-old scored some crucial goals, but during the Glasgow derbies, for instance, he proved that he wasn’t ready for such an occasion.
Then you had the situation where O’Neill hardly used him for the post-split fixtures – only 12 minutes of action.
Yes, some fans will point towards Oxlade-Chamberlain getting a pre-season under his belt and kicking on from there.
But it’s a huge worry if he is a big earner at the club, alongside his past injury worries, that you will then expect him to start regularly alongside Callum McGregor.
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