Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ‘massively influential’ but little-known rule risks immediate Celtic disappointment

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is unlike other free agents looking to return to top-level European football – he still has plenty left in the tank.

That is the opinion of European football expert Andy Brassell, who believes the ex-England star can become an instant hit at Celtic.

Getty

Hoops manager Martin O’Neill confirmed earlier this week that he has held talks with Oxlade-Chamberlain over a move to Scotland.

The 32-year-old is a free agent after leaving Besiktas last summer, so he is available to join a new club outside the transfer window.

However, Oxlade-Chamberlain will need to be signed before Friday should he wish to play for his new team in Europe this season.

Oxlade-Chamberlain in race against time to join Celtic amid UEFA deadline

The Hoops are said to be in advanced talks with the 35-cap England international over completing the move to Glasgow.

While he could prove hugely influential in Celtic’s bid to overhaul Hearts’ six-point lead in the Scottish Premiership, he may not be able to feature in their upcoming Europa League play-off ties against Stuttgart.

Celtic have until 11pm on Thursday night to register new eligible players for the knockout games, which include the play-offs.

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s last appearance at senior level was an 11-minute cameo in the Turkish giant’s win over Adana Demirspor in May 2025.

The midfielder has since kept up his fitness by training with Arsenal, having spent six years at the club in his early career.

Oxlade-Chamberlain played for the Gunners’ U21s in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Manchester United in December.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta even refused to rule out a move for his former teammate after Mikel Merino sustained a broken foot.

Several of Oxlade-Chamberlain’s old England pals similarly face a challenge of returning to elite football following a long layoff.

Jesse Lingard is a free agent after spending the past two years playing in South Korea, while Raheem Sterling is without a club following the termination of his contract with Chelsea.

Meanwhile, Paul Pogba has managed just 30 minutes across three substitute appearances at Monaco since making his comeback from his two-year drugs ban in November.

The former Man United superstar has since missed the last nine games in all competitions with a calf injury.

However, football expert Brassell told talkSPORT.com that Celtic shouldn’t be fearful of Oxlade-Chamberlain suffering a similar fate.

Getty

‘He can be massively influential for Celtic quite quickly’

“Oxlade-Chamberlain has been a viable first-team player more recently,” he argued in contrast to other notable free agents.

“Part of the reason he got shifted from Besiktas was because it wasn’t the ideal personal situation for him, with obviously his family staying at home.

“It was also the fact that Besiktas had fallen well, well short of expectations over the last couple of years, having spent a lot of money and having spent a fair bit of money on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s wages, of course.

“I saw him a couple of times out there in the flesh in the Turkish Super League, and I think it’s clear that he’s still a big player in there.

“I think he can get to a level where he can be massively influential for Celtic quite quickly. And that is the massive difference, I think, between him and Dele [Alli] and Pogba.”

Getty

Ex-Arsenal and Liverpool man Oxlade-Chamberlain spent two seasons in the Turkish Super Lig in his first venture abroad.

The Englishman made 30 first-team appearances during his maiden campaign and helped Besiktas win the Turkish Cup.

That trophy triumph earned the club a spot in the Europa League for last season before being frozen out of the team by then-manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who is now Arne Slot’s assistant at Anfield.

Oxlade-Chamberlain played under nine managers in his 24 months in Turkey, including Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with none lasting more than 20 games.

“Even after he was deposed from the first team the first time, he came back and was really influential,” Brassell added.

“You think when Solskjaer first came in, he was a big player for him then. He influenced big games.

Getty

Getty

Besiktas fallout ‘not Oxlade-Chamberlain’s fault’

“He scored the winner against Fenerbahce, and he was someone who could still run all day, he could still cover a number of midfield positions, he’s still got great craft.

“So for me, for him to take the leap to where he’s an influential player is not that much of a leap all over again.

“A lot of the reason it didn’t work for him at Besiktas was circumstantial, and he was seen really as a symbol of a regime gone wrong, of a transfer policy gone wrong. None of that was really his fault.

“He was cast out because all of a sudden, they weren’t in a position to be chasing trophies, and he was still getting paid a lot of money.

Getty

“So they needed to move him on from there. So a lot of where he fell short of Besiktas was not his fault.

“He still performed creditably in very, very difficult situations in some cases. The last time I saw him play in the flesh, they were getting beaten 5-0 at home by a Club Brugge in the Europa League.

“And he still played really well. He still had a really good influence on that game despite the fact that the team was a shambles.

“He was diligent, hard-working, there was still plenty of quality there. But he was just in a situation where, having been in clubs that were contending for stuff all his life, all of a sudden, he was in this completely dysfunctional situation where there was only a limited amount that he could do.

“So I feel there’s plenty left in the Oxlade-Chamberlain tank.”