It looks like Celtic will beef up their squad once again, even with the January transfer window slamming shut.
Celtic did it in the summer with Kelechi Iheanacho, and aside from his injuries, he has done fairly well in Glasgow, as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could be the next guy to follow suit.
Nothing is confirmed yet, but the suggestion is that Celtic will sign Oxlade-Chamberlain on a free transfer.
There are sections of the Celtic Park faithful who are excited by the 32-year-old’s expected arrival, but Simon Donnelly shared his concerns.
Could Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have an impact like Scott Sinclair did at Celtic?
The ‘concern’ about Celtic signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Oxlade-Chamberlain left Turkish giants Besiktas in the summer. He has been without a club since, and has been training with his former club, Arsenal.
There was the suggestion that Arsenal could offer Oxlade-Chamberlain a contract, but that hasn’t and won’t happen.
Speaking on Clyde 1, Donnelly highlighted ‘the game time’ Oxlade-Chamberlain has had in recent times, and how that would be a worry, as he compared the situation to when Rangers signed Aaron Ramsey.
“It’s an interesting one,” said Donnelly. “When I heard it a couple of days ago, I immediately thought, rightly or wrongly, about Aaron Ramsey coming into Rangers.
“He’s not played a lot of game time. I think he was training at Arsenal. 32 is nothing. If you are fit, and there is no doubt the guy is quality. The concern would be the game time he has had in recent times.
“I believe, if I am right in what I was reading, Arsenal were looking at possibly giving him a contract. That would suggest he has been proving himself in training.
“Martin O’Neill mentioned it. It’s one of those ones, if you can get somebody like that quality flying.”
A breakdown of Oxlade-Chamberlain’s minutes
The last time Oxlade-Chamberlain kicked a football in a competitive game was in May of last season for Besiktas in the Turkish Super Lig against Adana Demirspor.
During that 2024/25 campaign, the former Liverpool player earned over 1,000 minutes of football, after playing a similar amount the season before.
- Oxlade-Chamberlain’s last game: May 11, 2025, vs. Adana Demirspor in Super Lig
- Oxlade-Chamberlain’s last start: May 4, 2025, vs. Fenerbahce in Super Lig
- Oxlade-Chamberlain’s games last season: 20
- Oxlade-Chamberlain’s total starts last season: 16
- Oxlade-Chamberlain’s total minutes last season: 1,132
- Oxlade-Chamberlain’s total minutes for the 2023/24 campaign: 1,424
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